On Wednesday, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed a package of 18 separate bills which the Governor’s office described as ” bills that will transform our education system and bring back common sense in our classrooms.” Among the bills were:
HB 121, the “Given Name Act” (full text). The new law prohibits any public or charter school policy “that provides for an inquiry of” the pronouns of a student or employee that are inconsistent with their biological sex, or “that provides for an inquiry of” their name that is not their legal name or a derivative of it. Teachers and other employees as well as other students may not be required to address a student by a name other than the student’s legal name or a derivative of it, or to address a student using pronouns that are inconsistent with the person’s biological sex. A parent may seek corrective action if a school employee refers to a student by other pronouns or by another name and may bring suit if corrective action is intentionally not taken. ADF issued a press release announcing the governor’s signing of the bill.
HB 334 (full text) which permits public school boards to “employ or accept as a volunteer a certified chaplain to provide support, services, and programs for students, staff, and parents as assigned by a school board….” The new law also provides the chaplain with immunity from suit for actions or statements made under the program unless they were “maliciously, willfully, and deliberately intended to cause harm to harass or intimidate those seeking support, services and programs.”
HB 71 that requires the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public school and college classroom. See this post for additional details.