“Schools are grateful for involved parents and we need even more of them working together with teachers to educate our children,” Cooper said in a statement. He said that lawmakers shouldn’t bring “the ‘don’t say gay’ culture wars” into the state’s classrooms, according to The Associated Press. Deanna Ballard, the bill’s lead sponsor, told the paper. “It has no place in the K-3 curriculum,” state Sen. LGBTQ+ advocates and other critics of the bill, HB755, have called it anti-LGBTQ, but Republican lawmakers say they are supporting parents, not being discriminatory. It could also require school employees to out LGBTQ+ students in any grade level, according to Raleigh’s The News & Observer. The legislation, which is currently going through Senate committees, would prohibit teaching students about gender or sexuality during early elementary school.
North Carolina’s state senators have introduced a version of a “don’t say gay” bill, following several other GOP-led states.
