PHOENIX β A new legislative proposal would bar school employees from knowingly referring to a student by a pronoun βthat differs from the pronoun that aligns with the studentβs biological sexββ regardless of the studentβs 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 studentβs 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 itβs not designed to do, he told Capitol Media Services, is make it easier for a parent, informed of a childβs gender dysphoria, to get them the medical treatment needed to match the sex assigned at birth to the gender identity.
βYouβre talking to somebody who was a parent who wouldnβt let their minor child get a tattoo, much less change their gender,ββ Kavanagh said. βThose decisions need to be deferred to when an individualβs an adult and can make a mature decision.ββ
His legislation comes less than a year after state lawmakers approved β and outgoing Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed β a measure to prohibit any form of βirreversible gender reassignment surgeryββ 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 hasnβt heard of any such cases
Kavanagh acknowledged he has heard of no issues in Arizona schools with teachers using the βwrongββ pronouns with students.
But he said, βItβs something that is spreading. We want to nip it in the bud.ββ
The measure is a bad idea, said Jeanne Woodbury, interim executive director of Equality Arizona, a nonprofit organization that says itβs βArizonaβs power base for LGBTQ+ civic and political equity.β
βReactionary legislators are now trying to forcibly enlist teachers into their efforts to make schools inhospitable to trans and binary students,ββ Woodbury said.
Woodbury called it βan embarrassment to good governanceββ 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 thatβs not problem, said Bridget Sharpe, state director of the Human Rights Campaign, a nonprofit that says itβs the nationβs largest LGBTQ advocacy organization.
βAll that happens at the end of the day is that the kids feel ostracized,ββ Sharpe said. She said it also undermines the ability of trans students to believe they have βa trusted person at schoolββ with whom they can speak.
βItβs really an attempt, weβve seen it nationwide, to just kind of demonize these kids and saying that their pronouns donβt matter,ββ 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 doesnβt match the personβs gender assigned at birth.
βIt says they canβt do that unless the parent has given permission,ββ he said.
βWe are constantly being politicizedβ
Kavanagh said thereβs 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.
βIn fact, if the parents know about it and the child is receiving treatment, then calling a child a name or a pronoun that doesnβt align with their gender may, in fact, be contrary to their treatment,ββ Kavanagh said.
βThese children are often depressed and suicidal,ββ he continued. βSo the last thing that I want to do is keep parents, who are in a position to help the child, in the dark.ββ
But he acknowledged that βtreatmentββ 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 childβs 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.
βIt was their No. 1 priority: How do we stay in a state where we are constantly being politicized?ββ with state government adding to the bureaucracy. Garcia said. βItβs just frustrating and angering.ββ
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 studentβs birth certificate.
But it would not have precluded someone from voluntarily honoring a studentβs request, something Kavanaghβs SB1001 would outlaw.
Fillmoreβs measure did not even get a hearing in the House Education Committee to which it was assigned.
