PHOENIX â A new legislative proposal would bar school employees from knowingly referring to a student by a pronoun âthat differs from the pronoun that aligns with the studentâs biological sexââ regardless of the studentâs preferences. Only if an employee first gets parental permission would that be permissible.
Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, has introduced the proposal as Senate Bill 1001 and already plans to expand it, to close what he sees as a possible loophole in which teachers could avoid pronouns and instead address a student by the first name he, she or they prefer.
He wants state law to mandate that only a studentâs given name or its variants can be used. Someone named Edward could be addressed as Eddie or Ed, but calling that student Emma or Evelyn would be breaking the law.
Kavanagh says his measure would make sure parents know if their children are identifying themselves by a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. That would ensure the children can get the psychological treatment they may need, he said, to deal with depression and potential suicidal thoughts.
But what itâs not designed to do, he told Capitol Media Services, is make it easier for a parent, informed of a childâs gender dysphoria, to get them the medical treatment needed to match the sex assigned at birth to the gender identity.
âYouâre talking to somebody who was a parent who wouldnât let their minor child get a tattoo, much less change their gender,ââ Kavanagh said. âThose decisions need to be deferred to when an individualâs an adult and can make a mature decision.ââ
His legislation comes less than a year after state lawmakers approved â and outgoing Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed â a measure to prohibit any form of âirreversible gender reassignment surgeryââ on an individual younger than 18, even with the consent of parents.
To get the votes, proponents had to remove a provision that would have prohibited doctors from providing puberty-blocking hormones or any other hormone therapy to minors.
Ducey also signed another measure passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature spelling out that anyone assigned male gender at birth cannot participate in intramural or interscholastic sports for females, regardless of whether the student has fully transitioned.
He hasnât heard of any such cases
Kavanagh acknowledged he has heard of no issues in Arizona schools with teachers using the âwrongââ pronouns with students.
But he said, âItâs something that is spreading. We want to nip it in the bud.ââ
The measure is a bad idea, said Jeanne Woodbury, interim executive director of Equality Arizona, a nonprofit organization that says itâs âArizonaâs power base for LGBTQ+ civic and political equity.â
âReactionary legislators are now trying to forcibly enlist teachers into their efforts to make schools inhospitable to trans and binary students,ââ Woodbury said.
Woodbury called it âan embarrassment to good governanceââ for this to be the first measure introduced in the Senate for the 2023 session.
Kavanagh is trying to make an issue out of something thatâs not problem, said Bridget Sharpe, state director of the Human Rights Campaign, a nonprofit that says itâs the nationâs largest LGBTQ advocacy organization.
âAll that happens at the end of the day is that the kids feel ostracized,ââ Sharpe said. She said it also undermines the ability of trans students to believe they have âa trusted person at schoolââ with whom they can speak.
âItâs really an attempt, weâve seen it nationwide, to just kind of demonize these kids and saying that their pronouns donât matter,ââ she said.
Kavanagh pointed out that his legislation would not preclude a teacher or other school employee from referring to a student using his, her or their preferred pronoun or a name that doesnât match the personâs gender assigned at birth.
âIt says they canât do that unless the parent has given permission,ââ he said.
âWe are constantly being politicizedâ
Kavanagh said thereâs also a potential benefit in requiring teachers to check in with parents when a student makes such a request.
Gender dysphoria is generally described as a sense by individuals that there is a mismatch between their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity, which can result in distress.
Kavanagh said alerting the parent could get the child necessary treatment.
âIn fact, if the parents know about it and the child is receiving treatment, then calling a child a name or a pronoun that doesnât align with their gender may, in fact, be contrary to their treatment,ââ Kavanagh said.
âThese children are often depressed and suicidal,ââ he continued. âSo the last thing that I want to do is keep parents, who are in a position to help the child, in the dark.ââ
But he acknowledged that âtreatmentââ would be for the depression, essentially getting the child to be comfortable with assigned gender, rather than any intervention, medical or otherwise, to help confirm the childâs perceived gender.
The legislation also is raising concerns among educators.
It comes as the the state is losing thousands of teachers each year, said Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association. She said measures like this make it harder to convince more people to enter the profession, citing a conversation she had with some would-be teachers.
âIt was their No. 1 priority: How do we stay in a state where we are constantly being politicized?ââ with state government adding to the bureaucracy. Garcia said. âItâs just frustrating and angering.ââ
Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction, offered a similar idea last session. His proposal would have precluded school officials from requiring teachers and other staff to use a gender pronoun that differs from what is on a studentâs birth certificate.
But it would not have precluded someone from voluntarily honoring a studentâs request, something Kavanaghâs SB1001 would outlaw.
Fillmoreâs measure did not even get a hearing in the House Education Committee to which it was assigned.
