Republican state lawmakers in Connecticut, partnering with the right-wing Family Institute of Connecticut, are pushing for a public hearing on legislation to restrict the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming students in the state’s schools, according to a recent report in the Hartford Courant.
Ironically, the GOP legislators and Family Institute are calling their partnership the “Let Kids Be Kids Coalition.”
Reports to Current:
The Let Kids Be Kids Coalition called on the General Assembly’s Education Committee [last week] to hold a public hearing on two bills that would require schools to out trans students to their parents and prohibit trans athletes from participating in school sports that match their gender identity.
The proposal comes amid a surge of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation — the ACLU is tracking 400 such bills in 2024. Most call for banning gender-affirming care for minors and barring trans athletes from participating in sports teams matching their gender identity, though many states also have “forced outing in school” proposals.
Connecticut law has established the state as a sanctuary for transgender people, requiring gender-affirming care be covered by health insurers and offering patients and providers the same legal protections as it gave for abortion in the 2022 safe harbor law.
But among Connecticut public schools, policies on how to handle the disclosure of a student’s gender identity vary from district to district.
When it comes to sports, trans students may compete in the class that they identify with, whether that be boys’ or girls’ sports.
If enacted, the “Let Kids Be Kids Act,” would require districts to notify parents within 24 hours if “a school employee becomes aware” that their child has “asserted a gender identity that does not align with the student’s sex. The “Save Women’s Sports Act,” would mandate that trans student-athletes only participate in sports that align with the gender they were assigned at birth.
Proponents of the legislation framed the issues as a fight for parental and women’s rights. LGBTQ+ advocates pushed back on the coalition’s proposals Wednesday, citing their potential to harm trans and gender nonconforming youth.
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