Republicans defend ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ as doctors and parents speak out

Medical experts and parents on Thursday spoke out against a controversial bill in the North Carolina General Assembly, arguing it would harm LGBTQ children and families.

“My professional opinion as a licensed clinical psychologist is that this bill will make our children less safe,” Sarah Wilson, a professor at Duke University School of Medicine, said in a Senate Health Care Committee meeting. “Our children will be safest if they have places where they can tell what they need to who can deliver that to them. Most of the time that is caring, that is understanding, that is compassion. And as other speakers have said, not everyone gets that at home.”

Senate Bill 49, called the Parents’ Bill of Rights, would ban curriculum regarding gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality in kindergarten through fourth grade. The bill would also require schools to notify parents before making any changes to the name or pronoun used for a student in school records.

Speakers at Thursday’s committee meeting said this provision could force children to come out to unsupportive parents.

“This bill breaks that relationship of trust which some very fragile adolescent has managed to forge when they can’t talk to their parents yet, and it also punishes the very person who is able to weave that well of trust and caring that these young people so desperately need,” Karen Ziegler, a retired pastor and nurse said.

Terri Phoenix, a transgender parent who serves as the director of the LGBTQ center at UNC-Chapel Hill, told committee members a story about his daughter. For class, Phoenix’s daughter was asked to draw a picture of her family. Knowing that her drawing would include her transgender parent, Phoenix asked the teacher to explain to students that LGBTQ families exist before drawings were shown.

“If SB 49 passes, my concern is teachers will not be able to normalize or affirm LGBTQ communities,” Phoenix said.

Later, Sen. Amy Galey, one of the bill’s primary sponsors, responded to Phoenix’s comment.

“You were concerned about your child being able to draw a picture of your family,” she said. “That would be permitted under this bill... This bill does not keep children from talking about their families at school.”

After the meeting ended, Phoenix and Galey conversed in the hallway. While Galey had said that Phoenix’s child would be able to draw her family, she did not address in her initial response whether the teacher could explain that some families are LGBTQ.

“If (teachers) can’t bring issues of gender identity or sexuality to the classroom, how can they then talk about... transgender families?” Phoenix asked.

“They don’t need to talk about that,” Galey said. “If children have a question, they should say — teachers then should say — ‘Go ask your parents.’”

“So, if my child is in a classroom like in first grade when a student looked at her and said, ‘That’s not a real family,’ the teacher should have said, ‘Go talk to your parents’?” Phoenix asked.

“The teacher should have said, ‘Everybody is welcome... Nobody gets bullied, nobody gets harassed, nobody gets to be made to feel like they’re not welcome in this classroom,’” Galey said.

Republican legislators have faced mounting concerns from constituents who are unclear on exactly how SB 49 would reshape classroom dynamics.

The bill’s text says that while curriculum regarding gender identity and sexuality is banned in grades K-4, that does not include “responses to student-initiated questions.”

Several speakers at the committee meeting spoke in favor of the bill, saying parents should have more authority over their children’s education.

“For many decades, state courts, federal courts and this General Assembly have recognized that parents have a fundamental right to the care, custody and control of their children,” John Rustin, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council said. “Senate Bill 49 clarifies this fundamental right does not end when a child enters a school building or a healthcare facility.”

A similar bill passed the Senate last year, but never made it to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk, who was expected to veto it.

This year’s version advanced through the Senate Health Care Committee on Thursday and now heads to the Rules Committee, the final stop before being voted on in the Senate.

Kyle Ingram is a freelancer with N.C. Insider, The News & Observer’s state government news service. He previously interned with The News & Observer and is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill.