On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 217–198 to require federally funded elementary and middle schools to obtain parental consent before changing a student’s gender on forms or sex-based accommodations.
Only eight Democrats voted for the bill.
Democrat Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Cleo Fields of Louisiana, Lauren Gillen of New York, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, and Eugene Vindman of Virginia joined all voting Republicans in supporting the Parental Rights Over The Education and Care of Their (PROTECT) Kids Act.
Many of these Democrats are facing tough reelection prospects.
Gonzalez, Kaptur, and Perez are in “Toss-Up” races, while Davis is in a “Lean R” race, according to The Cook Political Report. Cuellar and Gillen have a slight edge in “Lean D” races.
While only a select few Democrats voted for the bill, also known as HR 2616, parental rights have been a priority for Republicans. House Republicans also passed a parental bill of rights in 2023.
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Strong opposition to the bill came from the Congressional Equality Caucus, which nicknamed it the “Republicans’ Don’t Say Trans & Forced Outing Bill.” Chairman Mark Takano, D-Calif., in a statement, lambasted Republicans by bringing up their belief in small government and claiming the GOP is endangering the lives of trans students.
“The forced outing provision of this bill puts teachers in an impossible situation by requiring them to out trans kids to their parents in certain situations—even if the teacher knows the student will likely face physical abuse. Students like these are who Republicans want to put in immediate physical danger with this bill,” he also claimed.
The White House indicated that President Donald Trump would sign HR 2616, referring to the bill as “a crucial legislative step to defend children from radical ideology in schools.”
The Public Supports Parental Consent
Defending Education polling from 2023 shows 71% of voters support such a bill on parental consent and that majorities still support it even when broken down by race and political party.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, who framed the bill as one where parents and schools “should be working together to support student success—not at odds with one another,” emphasizing student success as a reason he hoped his bill would receive bipartisan support.
“This legislation moves us in that direction by strengthening trust, improving transparency, and keeping the focus where it belongs—on students’ education,” he said.
Walberg also pointed to a Defending Education study, explaining that it found “at least 21,000 schools across the U.S. have policies that allow or encourage staff to hide a student’s name change or gender identity,” adding that “a lack of transparency risks confusion, undermines trust, and weakens the essential partnership between families and schools.”
Families have been impacted by schools transitioning their children without any consent or awareness, leading to lawsuits.
“Many schools are engaged in systematic attempts to erode parental rights,” Walberg said. “Schools are facilitating gender transitions or encouraging students to change their names and pronouns without telling parents.” These are “enormously consequential decisions that have lasting impacts on a child’s well-being and development.”
He also highlighted a desire for there to be more of a focus on academics. “Why aren’t schools more focused on helping students recover academically?” Walberg wondered. “Test scores in key subjects remain stagnant or have declined, and students are still working to overcome pandemic-era learning loss.”
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