North Carolina legislators are off to a strong start this legislative session.
Last night, North Carolina Senate leadership announced they would be introducing a Parental Education Rights Bill in committee today. While we have still not seen the full language on the bill, according to reporters at the press conference announcing the bill, the bill would “limit instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade and require parental notice when students in kindergarten through high school question their sexual identity in school.” It is also reported to include a proposal that “parents would have to sign off before students could get counseling or other non-emergency health care.” Click here for more from WRAL’s coverage of this press conference.
Limiting the ability for students to seek out and have safe spaces and support has the potential to cause direct mental and physical harm to LGBTQ+ individuals. Our position is clear: NASW-NC STRONGLY opposes any legislation that has the potential to single out and cause harm to LGBTQ+ individuals.
We will continue to monitor this bill and will send out action alerts as needed.
Additionally, Senate leadership also announced an omnibus health care bill today. They have amended the telehealth bill that NASW-NC has been advocating for, House Bill 149, and it is now renamed Expanding Access to Healthcare. This 33-page bill does many things including expanding Medicaid and providing for telehealth. We will issue an update on this legislation soon. Learn more on this bill from WRAL.
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