Sponsor
Anna Luna
Representative · R-FL
Representative · R-FL
The bill increases parental control and clarifies limits on school counseling about gender identity, but at the cost of reduced access to school‑based support for transgender youth and greater legal, financial, and staffing risks for schools.
School districts, teachers, and administrators get clearer, narrower rules on what school staff may say about gender identity, reducing ambiguity about districts' obligations.
Parents gain a direct enforcement tool to sue schools to stop staff from providing gender‑related counseling to their minor children.
Students under 18—especially transgender and questioning youth—would be denied access to school‑based gender‑identity counseling and staff could not advise students about withholding information from parents, increasing risks to mental health and safety for youth who fear rejection or abuse.
Teachers, school counselors, and contractors face potential liability or job risk for providing support to transgender students, creating a chilling effect that will reduce school‑based mental‑health services.
School districts that serve vulnerable students risk losing federal ESEA funds or facing federal penalties for noncompliance, potentially reducing resources for schools and the students they serve.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Conditions federal K–12 funds on barring school staff/contractors from providing gender-identity counseling or advising students to hide transitions from parents, and permits parental injunctive suits.
Official title: To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to prohibit funds under such Act from being provided to public elementary and secondary schools that provide counseling, therapy, or guidance related to gender identity to students under 18 years of age, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 18, 2026 by Anna Luna · Last progress March 18, 2026
Conditions federal K–12 education funds on public schools not allowing employees or contractors to provide counseling, therapy, or guidance related to gender identity to students under 18, including help with social transition plans, and forbids advising students to hide gender identity or transition from parents. It also creates a private right of action allowing a parent to sue in federal district court for injunctive relief if a school violates the rule.