Anti-LGBTQ+ Youth Policy Bills
This swath of bills, whose proponents call them so-called “Parental Bills of Rights,” attempt to infringe on the safety and privacy of LGBTQ+ young people, deprive all students of a diverse, inclusive education, and take away parents’ rights to protect their own children’s freedom to learn.
They differ slightly but all really amount to an anti-LGBTQ “wish list” of limits on LGBTQ+ young people and their families, prioritizing the rights of some parents over others. The provisions in these bills would censor curriculum, block students’ freedom to learn, force school staff to “out” LGBTQ+ students to parents, interfere with young people’s access to life-saving medical care, and endanger the livelihood of all South Carolina students.
Every young person in South Carolina – including those who are LGBTQ – deserves an equal opportunity to learn. But the curriculum censorship provisions in these bills will have a chilling effect on any discussion of LGBTQ identity and stigmatize some students.
Read a full overview of these anti-LGBTQ+ youth policy bills here.