Sponsors (5)
The bill increases parental notice and provides procedural clarity for schools, but at the risk of denying recognition and accommodations to transgender students, creating privacy and safety hazards for vulnerable youth, and potentially jeopardizing federal education funding for districts that do not obtain parental consent.
Parents and families of K–12 students will receive formal notice and control before a school changes a minor's name, pronouns, or sex‑based accommodations at school.
Schools that receive ESEA funds get a clear procedural requirement for parental notification and consent, reducing legal ambiguity about how to handle requests from minors.
Students and school districts risk losing ESEA funding if schools fail to obtain parental consent, which could reduce resources and programs for many students in affected districts.
Students — particularly transgender and gender‑nonconforming youth — could face increased privacy and physical safety risks if schools are barred from changing sex‑based accommodations (e.g., restroom or locker room assignments) without parental permission.
Students, especially those in unsupportive or abusive homes, may be put at risk because the parental‑consent requirement can force schools to disclose a student's asserted gender identity to parents.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Conditions federal K–12 (ESEA) funds on schools obtaining parental consent before changing a covered minor’s gender marker, pronouns, preferred name, or sex-based accommodations.
Introduced April 3, 2025 by Tim Walberg · Last progress April 3, 2025
Ties receipt of federal K–12 (ESEA) education funds to a requirement that public schools obtain parental consent before changing a minor student’s gender marker, pronouns, preferred name on any school form, or before changing sex-based accommodations such as locker rooms or bathrooms. The rule applies to "covered students," defined as minors in elementary school or any middle grades, using the ESEA definitions for "elementary school," "middle grades," and "parent."