Texas Senate Advances K-12 “Don’t Say Gay” Bill

The Texas Tribune reports:

The Texas Senate has once again advanced legislation that would severely limit classroom lessons, teacher guidance and school programming about sexual orientation and gender identity through 12th grade in Texas schools.

The upper chamber voted 19-12 Monday to preliminarily approve House Bill 890 after the Senate education committee added the proposed restrictions to the legislation. This marks the third time the GOP-controlled body has passed what critics dub the “Don’t Say Gay” provision, which they say is both unconstitutional and harmful to LGBTQ Texans.

“This bill takes a stand by enshrining parental rights and ensuring that Texas parents are the chief decision makers in their child’s education,” said Sen. Brandon Creighton, the Conroe Republican who is sponsoring the bill in the upper chamber.

Read the full article.

As I reported over the weekend, Creighton had sneaked the “Don’t Say Gay” clause into an unrelated education bill. He first appeared on JMG in 2019 for his bill seeking to overturn LGBTQ protections enacted by Texas cities. In March 2023, he appeared here for his bill that would deny the prospect of tenure to newly-hired university professors. Creighton has spearheaded the Texas campaign to protect Confederate monuments.

For the third time this #txlege, the Senate has OK’d a bill that would ban lessons and school programming about sexual orientation and gender identity through 12th grade. Two other bills that contained similar language missed key legislative deadlines .https://t.co/6oFAODUT37

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) May 23, 2023