State senators in Georgia introduced a bill similar to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill this week. Both pieces of legislation would prohibit classroom instruction relating to sexual orientation or gender identity for young students, but the Georgia bill applies to private schools specifically.
The bill, SB 613, would ban materials that “promote, compel, or encourage classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not appropriate for the age and developmental stage of the student,” and apply to those private school funded through Georgia’s GOAL scholarship program.
It would also prohibit the use of elements of critical race theory in curricula, though “critical race theory” is not mentioned by name in the bill.
State senator Carden Summers, the Republican who introduced the legislation, told Axios he introduced the bill as a “conversation starter,” and because he believes parents should know what private schools are teaching their children.
“You can’t use the woke philosophy while using taxpayer funding,” he said.
The bill, which is also called the “Common Humanity in Private Education Act,” accuses private schools of having “inappropriately discussed gender identity with children who have not yet reached the age of discretion.”
The bill accuses private schools that have based coursework in “critical theory” of using it to “segregate students, staff and parents by ethnicity, color, race and national origin.”
It would ban teaching that one race or sex is superior to another; that a person should be discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity; and that slavery represents the “true founding” of the United States.
While the legislation is unlikely to pass due to how late in the legislative session it was introduced, the Atlanta Constitution Journal reported that its provisions could be added onto other proposals that have “already gained traction.”
Meanwhile, Florida’s senate passed its Parental Rights in Education bill on Tuesday, which would prohibit teachers from engaging kindergarteners through third-graders in discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill was passed by the state house of representatives last month and is expected to be signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis soon.