The controversial bill could require schools to out LGBTQ students to their parents. The bill would also ban teachers in kindergarten through fourth grade from talking about LGBTQ issues as part of the curriculum.

The North Carolina Senate passed the “Parents Bill of Rights,” Senate Bill 49, with a vote of 29 to 18 Tuesday, sending the legislation to the state House.  


What You Need To Know

  •  The "Parents' Bill of Rights" includes provisions that ban discussions of sexuality and gender identity in kindergarten through fourth grade in North Carolina schools

  •  The bill requires schools to tell parents if students change their name or pronouns, and share mental health information

  •  The bill passed the North Carolina Senate Tuesday and was sent to the House

  • Democrats have widely criticized the bill as discriminatory. They have filed their own bill, but that is unlikely to see much progress in the Republican-controlled General Assembly

Democrats have widely criticized the bill as discriminatory, and say the legislature should instead focus on school safety and increasing education funding.

“Parents are the primary decision makers with respect to their minor children, not their school,” Sen. Amy Galey said Tuesday. Galey, a Republican representing Alamance County and part of Randolph County, is one of the primary sponsors on the bill. "The government is not a partner in raising our children."

Democrats have filed their own bill in the House and Senate that addresses many of the same issues of notifying parents and involving them in what’s happening in school. But it leaves out the controversial LGBTQ issues. 

“Here they go again, engaging in culture wars with targets on the backs of children,” said Sen. Michael Garrett, who is sponsoring the Democrats’ competing bill.

“It’s not just about misplaced priorities. It is actively a dangerous bill,” he said. “The last few years have not been easy. Our kids have faced the rise of mass shootings, the isolation of the pandemic, and the ubiquity of social media. And we are seeing unprecedented levels of mental health anguish among our kids.”

“We need to be making our kids safer, not furthering the risk of bullying, which is exactly what SB49 would do,” Garrett said.

The Republicans have a veto-proof majority in the state Senate, where their bill is expected to pass easily. The Senate passed a similar measure last year. The bill in the last session did not make it through the House, where Speaker Tim Moore said it would have been vetoed by the governor.

The House is now one vote shy of being able to override a veto, so the Parents’ Bill of Rights could potentially make it through a veto-override vote this year.

Parental notification

One of the main criticisms of the bill is the requirement for schools to tell parents if students change their names or pronouns. This could lead to children facing abuse at home or force students to come out to their parents before they feel comfortable doing so, critics say.

“Prior to any changes in the name or pronoun used for a student in school records or by school personnel, notice (is required) to the parent of the change,” the bill states.

Gayley, the bill sponsor, said the bill explicitly says that there's an exception for telling parents if there is a concern over abuse.

But, Gayley said, "Confidential relationships do not exists between minor children and government employees."

The bill requires schools to share health care information with parents, including records on mental health care.

LBGTQ issues in elementary schools

North Carolina’s Parents’ Bill of Rights has drawn comparisons to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill that banned discussions of sexuality and gender identity. Republicans say that comparison is off the mark.

The Senate bill bans “instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality” from being included in the curriculum from kindergarten through fourth grade. But, the bill states, it “does not include responses to student-initiated questions.”

The bill reads: “Instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality shall not be included in the curriculum provided in grades kindergarten through fourth grade, regardless of whether the information is provided by school personnel or third parties. For the purposes of this section, curriculum includes the standard course of study and support materials, locally developed curriculum, supplemental instruction, and textbooks and other supplementary materials, but does not include responses to student-initiated questions.”

Other provisions

The bill includes a number of other requirements for schools to share information with parents.

  • It would require schools to get parental permission before surveying students on issues like sexuality, mental health, religion or family relationships
  • Parents would be about to request records of what their child checked out from a school library
  • Schools would have to tell parents if they change how they're monitoring a student’s health or mental well being
  • Parents could not be limited in access to health or educational records from schools
  • Allow parents to object to textbooks or other school materials
  • Parents could review materials for reproductive health and safety classes to decide if their kids should participate