An Arizona bill allowing parents to opt their children out of lessons that teach about the lives of LGBTQ+ people or their contributions to society is currently headed to the governor’s desk. The proposal passed the state House on Wednesday amid a nationwide attack on queer and trans rights.
Although Senate Bill 1456 is intended to target sexual education curricula, opponents have warned that the legislation is so broad that it could apply to virtually any mention of the LGBTQ+ community in classrooms. Examples of lessons that parents could request their children be exempt from could include history courses teaching about the 1969 Stonewall riots or the contributions of queer trailblazers like astronaut Sally Ride and codebreaker Alan Turning.
SB 1456, which was introduced by State Senator Nancy Barto (R-15th District), was introduced just two years after legislators repealed a “no promo homo” law that had been on the books since 1991. Similar to laws still in effect in five states, the statute forbid instruction on HIV/AIDS that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle,” although the definition of promotion was left unclear.
Barto, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, believes that SB 1456 is necessary in the wake of that law’s defeat to ensure that parents don’t “have to worry about what schools are teaching their children about human sexuality and gender identity.”
“They should have easy access to curriculum and the authority to opt in to sex ed and any other instruction related to sexual education,” she said in a committee hearing, as the local news outlet Parker Pioneer reported.
Opponents have warned that the legislation could be extremely restrictive, potentially forcing teachers to make parents sign a waiver to discuss books that touch on LGBTQ+ issues, such as Catcher in the Rye or The Color Purple. State Rep. Diego Rodriguez (D-27th District) said it sends a message to students that “there is something different about gender identity and gender expression.”
“And that difference is something that should be feared,” Rodriguez added in comments reported by the Arizona Daily Star.
Another major criticism of SB 1456 is that Arizona parents already have the right to pull their children out of sex-ed courses if they find the material objectionable, according to the Associated Press. The Grand Canyon State is one of five that requires parental permission for curricula on human sexuality, and the publication claims SB 1456 would essentially mandate a “double opt-in” for queer-inclusive lessons.
Despite major opposition from supporters of LGBTQ+ equality, the proposal squeaked through a legislature that is narrowly controlled by Republicans. Conservatives hold a slim two-seat majority in both the Arizona House and Senate, and SB 1546 passed largely by party lines: 31-28 in the House and 16-14 in the Senate.
Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, has not said whether he plans to sign it.
Arizona is not the only state targeting inclusive education in 2021. As Republican lawmakers in two dozen states push bills limiting educational opportunities and gender-affirming care for trans youth, the Tennessee Legislature recently advanced a similar bill requiring schools to give parents 30 days’ notice before topics relating to the LGBTQ+ community are taught in class.
As Republicans hold supermajorities in both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly, SB 1229 sailed through each by wide margins. It passed the state Senate earlier this month 24 to 6, and the House 64 to 3 on Wednesday.
Although Republican governor Bill Lee has yet to take a position on SB 1229, he is extremely likely to sign it after passing a law banning trans students from playing on school sports teams in alignment with their gender identity. In recent years, Tennessee has passed legislation allowing adoption agencies to turn away same-sex couples and protecting the “natural and ordinary meaning” of words like “mother” and “father,” a thinly veiled swipe at the Supreme Court’s 2015 marriage equality ruling.
Tennessee is weighing 10 other anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year, among the most in the nation. Other proposed legislation would punish businesses that allow trans people to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity by hanging signs warning customers and ban queer-inclusive textbooks in schools.
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for them.’s weekly newsletter here.
