Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed a law Monday barring schools from requiring teachers to use “preferred pronouns” for students.
The new law will take effect immediately. It also requires that students use the restrooms and locker rooms that coincide with their biological sex. The law passed the legislature in April with a veto-proof majority. (RELATED: ‘Their Credibility Will Be Sunk’: WPATH Continues To Stonewall Efforts At Transparency In Alabama)
“A board of a school district, public school, or public school teacher may not adopt a policy that requires or prohibits any individual from using a student’s preferred gender pronoun,” the law reads.
North Dakota governor signs bill restricting transgender pronouns, bathroom use https://t.co/i9MqoRjAV5 pic.twitter.com/xMytA2GVJH
— The Hill (@thehill) May 9, 2023
The bill further states that “A board of a school district or a public school shall prohibit a student from using a restroom that does not coincide with the student’s biological sex.”
The law also prohibits school officials from keeping a child’s gender transition from his or her parents, and from “adopt[ing] a policy” regarding a child’s gender identity without notifying that child’s parents.
Gov. Burgum said the law “largely codifies existing practices while reaffirming the First Amendment right to free speech,” according to The Hill.
Burgum vetoed Senate Bill 2231 in March, a bill that also forbade government entities from requiring employees to use “preferred pronouns.” In a letter to the Senate, Burgum explained he vetoed the legislation because its “ambiguity” would “invite lawsuits and put teachers in the precarious position of trying to determine how to refer to students without violating law.”