The start of the school year is an exciting time, but it can also be challenging and stressful. Students are learning their schedules and getting to know their classmates. Teachers and administrators are adapting to new rules and procedures. Bus routes can, and often do, cause problems.
So why would Indiana legislators come up with a regulation that will cause extra work and confusion at the start of the academic year. Either they don’t know what they’re doing, or they don’t care.
The regulation comes from House Enrolled Act 1608, approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb in the spring. Dubbed the “pronouns law,” it requires schools to notify a parent within five days if their child asks to be called by a different name or pronoun at school.
The intent is clear. Legislators wanted to be sure parents were informed if their child adopted a different gender identity at school. It’s part of their philosophy of supporting “parents’ rights.”
But they backed away from explicitly targeting gender identity, maybe because it would have invited a lawsuit, and made the law much broader. It says at least one parent must be notified if a student asks to change their name or the “pronoun, title, or word to identify the student” at school.
It would appear to require notification if, for example, a student named William asks to be called Will. That’s how many schools seem to be interpreting it: Any deviation from the name on enrollment records calls for telling a parent. In a large school, that’s likely to be dozens, maybe hundreds, of notifications.
“It’s a heavy lift for our principal and social worker right now,” a high school counselor told me last week.
The law says schools must notify a parent in writing, but that’s all the guidance it offers. Does that mean a letter? Can it be done with email? What if the student doesn’t live with a parent but with a grandparent or guardian? The law doesn’t say, leaving it to schools to guess. And the Indiana Department of Education is providing zero guidance.
Not surprisingly, many parents have been confused and annoyed when they’re notified, the Indianapolis Star reported. One parent called the law “a stunning waste of time and resources.”
You can make a credible argument that parents should know if their child is using a different name at school. But, if students aren’t sharing their gender identity with their parents, there may be a reason. School can be a safe haven for young people who are exploring their identity. Advocates say that outing transgender students to unsupportive parents is sure to cause harm.
The Indiana legislation started as Indiana’s version of Florida’s notorious “don’t say gay” law. As introduced, HEA 1608 would have barred teachers from discussing sexual orientation, gender identity or even gender roles through third grade. That part of the bill was also broadened, possibly to avoid litigation. Now schools can’t provide any instruction on “human sexuality” through Grade 3. Instruction isn’t defined; neither is human sexuality. Both could have a variety of meanings.
The law applies to all public and charter K-12 schools. It doesn’t apply to private schools.
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