LOVELAND MAGAZINE

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Tag: TransOhio

  • LGBTQ Ohioans and advocates are asking Gov. Mike DeWine to veto ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill

    LGBTQ Ohioans and advocates are asking Gov. Mike DeWine to veto ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill

    Requires school districts to create a mandatory religious release time policy

    By:  – Ohio Capital Journal

    Advocates condemned Ohio lawmakers for passing another anti-LGBTQ bill as the General Assembly wrapped up late Wednesday night, urging Gov. Mike DeWine to veto the legislation, though DeWine has indicated he will sign it.

    The Ohio Senate passed House Bill 8 and the Ohio House concurred with changes made to the bill, sending it to DeWine’s desk. He will have 10 days to either sign the bill into law or veto it, once he receives it. DeWine has indicated he favors the legislation.

    The controversial bill requires educators to out a students’ sexuality to their parents, requires public schools to let parents know about sexuality content materials ahead of time so they can request alternative instructions, and requires school districts to create a mandatory religious release time policy.

    “We are deeply disappointed that the legislature decided once again to attack LGBTQIA+ youth by passing yet another bill that will make schools less safe and inclusive for queer and transgender people,” Kaleidoscope Youth Center, an organization that serves LGBTQIA+ youth, said in a statement.

    TransOhio said passing H.B. 8 is a “harmful step backward” for students.

    “By requiring a religious release program and restricting discussions on gender and sexuality, the law imposes a narrow worldview on public education and limits teachers’ ability to provide inclusive, fact-based instruction,” TransOhio said in a statement. “By mandating the reporting of students’ assumed gender identities and behaviors to parents, the law breaches student privacy, erodes trust, and puts vulnerable children at risk of harm.”

    Those who supported H.B. 8 called it the ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’, but those who opposed it called it the ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill,’ due to its similar language to Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law that passed in 2022.

    “While this bill is presented as a “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” its provisions pose significant risks to the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth and raise troubling questions about the separation of church and state in public education,” Stonewall Columbus said in a statement.

    The Ohio Education Association said this bill will take time away from educators being able to teach students and will create more challenges for marginalized students.

    “It unnecessarily entangles state government in regulating communications between parents and educators, sowing distrust rather than fostering the collaboration needed to ensure all students can learn, grow, and thrive,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said in a statement.

    The bill, which underwent several changes since it was first introduced in February 2023, received much opposition.

    “Despite the outcry from hundreds of students, parents, and social workers, conservatives want to broaden curriculum censorship, weaken current civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, and impose new disclosure and alternative curriculum mandates on teachers and counselors,” Lauren Blauvelt, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, said in a statement.

    “These requirements would create conflicting, burdensome obligations for educators, making it overly difficult for them to comply,” Blauvelt said.

    The Ohio Center for Sex Education said this bill is at odds with studies that show comprehensive sexuality education programs reduce the rates of sexual activity, sexual risk behaviors, sexually transmitted infections, and adolescent pregnancy.

    “This bill’s vague language creates an environment of fear and division, putting LGBTQ+ students at risk and eroding the trust that educators work hard to build with their students and families,” Jenna Wojdacz, the center’s assistant vice president, said in a statement.

    Equality Ohio, along with several other organizations, is asking DeWine to veto the bill.

    “Overnight when most school-age children are asleep, the legislature rushed through another shameful attack on LGBTQ+ youth,” Equality Ohio Executive Director Dwayne Steward said in a statement.

    LifeWise Academy, a Hilliard-based religious instruction program, celebrated the passage of H.B. 8.

    “Families understand the benefits of Bible-based character education during school hours, given the increasing demand for our program in communities throughout Ohio and the country,” LifeWise CEO Joel Penton said in a statement.

    LifeWise enrolls 50,000 students across 29 states, including about 160 Ohio school districts.

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    Megan Henry
    Megan Henry

    Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

    Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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  • “Absurd and unnecessary,” Transgender Ohioans, allies react to House passage of bathroom ban bill

    “Absurd and unnecessary,” Transgender Ohioans, allies react to House passage of bathroom ban bill

    Getty Image

    The bill would require Ohio K-12 schools and colleges to mandate that students would only be able to use the bathroom or locker room that matches up with their gender assigned at birth.

    Jean Schmidt (R) who represents Ohio House District 62 is a co-sponsor of HB 183.
    Jennifer Gross (R) who represents Ohio District 45 is a co-sponsor of HB 183.
    Thomas Hall (R) who represents Ohio District 46 is a co-sponsor of HB 183.

    Bill Seitz (R) who represents Ohio District 30 is a co-sponsor of HB 183.

    Adam C. Bird (R) who represents Ohio District 63 is a Primary Sponsor of HB 183.

    BY:  – Ohio Capital Journal

    Transgender Ohioans and allies are outraged the Ohio House passed a bathroom ban bill at the 11th hour of a marathon session Wednesday night before going on summer break.

    The bill would require Ohio K-12 schools and universities to mandate that students only be able to use the bathroom or locker room that matches their gender assigned at birth.

    “Hate mongers in Columbus want to see trans and gender nonconforming Ohioans stripped of their right to exist in public spaces. They can make our lives harder, but they can’t make us not a part of this state,” TransOhio Executive Director Dara Adkison said in a statement.

    Sam Shim, the parent of two transgender high school students, said his biggest concern with the bathroom ban bill is how lawmakers don’t seem to be focused on students.

    “It seems like it’s a political stunt designed to help with their messaging when they go back out on the campaign trail,” Shim said. “My kids should be able to go to the bathroom without worrying about being accosted.”

    Honesty for Ohio Education said this bill would harm transgender students and families.

    “We are deeply disturbed that extremists in the state legislature prioritized the passing of this transphobic and hateful legislation over anything that would help Ohioans,” Christina Collins, Executive Director at Honesty For Ohio Education, said in a statement.

    Trans Allies of Ohio echoed comments House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said Wednesday night on the House floor.

    “We have school districts that can’t afford busses or find teachers, colleges that are losing students and closing their doors, and over 505,000 Ohio children going hungry every day,” Trans Allies of Ohio said in a statement. “But attacking less than 1% of the population has become a priority.”

    “HB 183 is absurd and unnecessary, and the passage of this bill through the Ohio House in the late hours of the night is nothing short of targeting and bullying behavior. Our legislators make it hard to feel proud of being an Ohioan,” Jennifer Kuhn, spokesperson for Kaleidoscope Youth Center, said in an email.

    Equality Ohio said the bill undermines the dignity and rights of transgender and gender diverse Ohioans.

    “Across races, backgrounds, and genders, we all deserve the dignity of safely existing in public life and using the most basic of public accommodations,” Morgan Zickes, Equality Ohio’s public policy manager, said in a statement. “We saw extremists in the General Assembly resort to eleventh-hour back door legislative efforts to ensure that transgender and gender expansive Ohioans are stripped of this fundamental decency.”

    Ten states have laws that limit bathroom access that correspond with gender identity in K-12 schools, according to the UCLA Williams Institute 2024 report on the impact of anti-transgender legislation on youth. An estimated 34,800 transgender students ages 13-17 live in those states.

    However, those laws have been challenged in Florida, Oklahoma, Idaho and Tennessee.

    How did the bill pass?

    The bathroom ban bill (House Bill 183) was favorably voted out of the House Higher Education Committee in April, but wasn’t on the agenda for Wednesday’s House session — the last one before lawmakers went on summer break.

    House Republicans used Senate Bill 104, which revises the College Credit Plus Program, as the vehicle to pass the transgender bathroom ban.

    Rep. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, one of the sponsors of H.B. 183, introduced the amendment that ended up weaving his bill into S.B. 104. Because of the changes, the bill now goes back to the Senate to concur.

    TransOhio called adding H.B. 183 to S.B. 104 an “underhanded move” that  “undermines the legislative process.”

    Since the lawmakers are on summer break, the bill likely won’t go before the Senate until the fall.

    “When the Senate returns from summer recess we urge everyone to pressure the Senate to not concur, and for the Governor to veto,” Adkison said in a statement. “HB 183 is not law today, nor should it ever become so.”

    Transgender bills in Ohio

    There are a handful of transgender bills at various spots on the way to becoming a law.

    Ohio’s gender-affirming care ban for trans youth (House Bill 68) is the closest to becoming law, but is currently tied up in court. A Franklin County judge placed a temporary restraining order on the bill that will be in effect until the conclusion of a July hearing.

    House Bill 8 has also seen movement in the General Assembly lately and it would force educators to out a student’s sexuality to their parents, require public schools to inform parents about sexuality content materials ahead of time and give them the option to request alternative instructions.

    H.B. 8 passed the House last year and just had a fourth hearing in the Senate Education Committee.

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    Megan Henry
    MEGAN HENRY

    Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.

    Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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