ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia’s Republican state senators on Tuesday banned transgender girls from playing sports with other girls in high school, limited sex education and disrupted the sex education system. The state is once again trying to impose a conservative image on the state’s public schools by passing a bill requiring them to do so. Notify parents of all materials their child obtains from the school library.
Georgia teens allegedly grabbed guns, beat a deputy and fled custody before being arrested by police.
The Senate passed House Bill 1104 33-21 along party lines. The bill originally addressed suicide prevention, but was overhauled in a Senate committee by adding a number of other bills that had previously failed to pass the Senate. The measure mirrors bills introduced by Republicans in other states.
Georgia Sen. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) speaks in opposition to House Bill 1104’s replacement. House Bill 1104 originally dealt with suicide prevention, but was overhauled in a Senate committee by adding a number of other previously ineffective bills. Passed by the Senate on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Atlanta. (Matthew Pearson/WABE, via AP)
“Simply put, what this bill does is protect children and empower parents,” said Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, the bill’s sponsor. .
But Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, called the bill “a compilation of a number of misguided culture war bills.”
It’s unclear whether the moderate House will accept the bill, but it was pushed by Lt. Gov. Bert Jones, a Republican who has built a conservative track record as he prepares to run for governor in 2026.
“As the father of a daughter who plays sports, I will never stop fighting to protect the integrity of women’s sports so that Georgia’s next generation of female athletes can compete on a safe and equal playing field,” Jones said in a statement. Stated.
The bill would ban transgender girls from participating in girls’ high school sports. The law does not prohibit transgender men from competing with other men and applies to public schools as well as private schools that compete with public schools. The Georgia High School Association, which regulates high school sports, had already enacted such a ban after previous legislation encouraged such a ban.
Additionally, transgender boys and girls who play sports will be prohibited from using the multi-person restrooms and locker rooms of the gender they identify with. However, the bill does not appear to ban transgender boys and girls from all bathrooms that match their gender identity.
Jennifer Hadley of Bethlehem, whose son is transgender, said she doesn’t know how that will affect his participation in the band. She said her son “has already had a difficult enough time just being a teenager, let alone a transgender teenager.”
“The uncertainty of this coming into their lives takes an emotional toll over time,” Hadley said.
Another provision of the bill would allow schools to eliminate sex education and only admit students if parents specifically consent. The measure would ban all sex education for fifth graders and below.
Current state sex education standards require little explicit discussion of human reproduction in 8th grade and younger, but 2nd grade students should learn to name all body parts and “delineate appropriate boundaries regarding physical contact.” ” are to be learned. Fifth graders are expected to learn about puberty, and most of the required sex education is taught in high school health courses.
The bill says schools will still be able to discuss child abuse and assault awareness, prevention and menstruation. However, it is unclear whether teachers can explain the reasons for menstruation to fifth-graders. Mr Dixon told the committee that his wife had explained menstruation to one of his daughters without explaining about human reproduction.
The bill would require school boards to conduct 45 days of public review and comment and two public hearings before adopting a sex education curriculum. Additionally he will require two weeks’ notice before the material is actually presented at school.
“Children’s time of innocence is limited and we should want to protect it,” Dixon said.
But opponents warn that the opt-in provision could result in many parents inadvertently not enrolling their students.
“What’s this bill?” asked Sen. Josh McLaughlin, an Atlanta Democrat. “This is nothing more than a ban on everyone talking about sex, and it just means that the few parents who feel uncomfortable don’t have to talk about sex until later in life. That’s weak.”
The third part of the bill would allow parents to choose to receive an email each time their child obtains library materials. It would also create parental rights to all information about their students, including reporting behavioral patterns, academic intervention strategies, and all resources available to students in the classroom, library, and extracurricular activities.
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Rep. Omari Crawford, D-Decatur, who sponsored the original portion of the high school athlete suicide prevention bill, said he is now working against its passage.
“The added language will likely worsen suicide rates,” Crawford said. “So I don’t think you can prevent suicide.”
