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Let's Talk About HB 616

Updated: Oct 6, 2022

By Maddie Thomas April 13, 2022


House Bill (HB) 616, formally titled

“To amend sections 3313.21, 3314.03, and 3326.11 and

to enact section 3313.6029 of the Revised Code regarding the promotion and teaching of divisive or inherently racist concepts in public schools,” is informally known as the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill. You can read the full text here. It was recently introduced by Representatives Mike Loychik and Jean Schmidt (pictured to right). You might have noticed these kinds

of bills popping up around the country - according to an April 11th article on NBC News, 19 states across the United States have been considering similar bills. Florida has already signed its “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, which they formally titled the “Parental Rights in Education” Bill. Ohio’s version includes much more than just anti-homosexual rhetoric, which we’ll discuss later in this article.


These kinds of laws aren’t new. GLSEN, an advocacy group for young LGBTQ kids, released a research brief in 2018 regarding “no promo homo” laws - yes, that is actually what they call them - that primarily dealt with what teachers could discuss during health


classes, with the purpose of preventing a positive portrayal of homosexuality. These laws were implemented in the 1980s and 1990s in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In 2018, they were still present in seven states; as of September 2021, that number was reduced to four.


Equality Texas explains of Texas’s “No Promo Homo” law: “Originally enacted in 1991, the law reads that public education programs must ‘state that homosexual conduct is not an acceptable lifestyle

and is a criminal offense’ and sexual education programs must emphasize ‘that homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and that homosexual conduct is a criminal offense.’” (According to 2003 Supreme Court opinion Lawrence v. Texas, ‘homosexual conduct’ is not in fact a criminal offense). You can read the relevant Texas statute here. This is just an example of the vitriolic language that still puts LGBTQ youth at risk in 2022.


GLSEN found that these laws have had a real, tangible impact on queer students. Even controlling for “demographics, school characteristics, region, and state education expenditures, schools in states with ‘no promo homo’ laws still evidenced more hostile environments and less access to LGBTQ-supportive resources.”


These laws are the precursor to contemporary “Don’t Say Gay” Bills. These social conditions are not merely a sudden and unprecedented outbreak of homophobia, but rather a progression of consistent attacks on sexual and gender diversity in schools.


As aforementioned, however, HB 616 isn’t just about gay people.


The bill first establishes that school boards have full control over the selection of curriculum and instructional materials. This in itself may be enough to engender concern, since it takes away a measure of autonomy for teachers in designing their own curriculum, but wait- there’s more.


Those instructional materials and curriculum designs, according to the bill, may not contain “divisive or inherently racist concepts.” That seems all well and good - why would we be teaching kids to be racist - but then the bill defines such concepts. They include but are not limited to critical race theory, intersectionality, and “diversity, equity, and inclusion” learning outcomes. The bill comes on the heels of another Ohio bill, HB 327, which would also aim to prohibit the teaching of ‘divisive’ concepts. This article in


Education Weekly, a specialized publication for educators across the US, explains further what critical race theory really is. I encourage you to review these sources and think deeply about whether it is really these programs that are racist, or the opposition to them.


The bill then moves on to the reason this legislation has been dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill: Teachers may not discuss gender identity and sexual orientation in any capacity with children in kindergarten through third grade, and students through high school may not receive such materials as the school board deems age-inappropriate.


Much has already been written about these laws, so I’ll keep my commentary brief. The vagueness and broadness of these restrictions create immense room for prejudice and discrimination within the classroom. Queer kids already suffer so much even under current educational practices in American public schools. Our children are surrounded, from a very young age, with messaging regarding gender identity and sexuality. The Mayo Clinic reports that children develop their own gender identity as early as age three.


Yes, of course curriculum should be age-appropriate. Of course children should be educated instead of indoctrination. These protections for students were already implicit in the current governmental and educational regime. HB 616 wouldn’t accomplish these goals, but it would shield children from the difficult conversations of our time when we should be helping them to develop their own identities and senses of self.


The effect of these policies is to label homosexuality and transgenderism, unlike the cisgender and heterosexual ‘normal,’ as inappropriate and possibly dirty. What impact do you think that has on LGBTQ young people?


As a queer person, I am scared and I am disgusted. And today, I’m ashamed to call myself a resident of Ohio.

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