JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Missouri bill looks to regulate how schools address gender identity, specifically a student’s preferred use of pronouns.
Missouri State Sen. Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) has introduced SB 117 for the ongoing legislative session, which aims to restrict how educators discuss or address gender identity in specific situations.
If approved, the bill would require parental consent for school officials to use a student’s preferred pronouns when those pronouns differ from ones associated with the student’s assigned sex at birth.
According to the bill’s language, it would prohibit school officials from encouraging “a student to adopt a gender identity or sexual relationship.” School officials would also be required to notify a student’s parents within 48 hours if a student expresses “discomfort or confusion” about the student’s personal gender identity.
Additionally, school officials would need parental consent to use a name different than the name provided by a student’s parents during enrollment.
Furthermore, the bill would allow school officials to refuse use of pronouns that differ from an individual’s biological sex “if doing so would be contrary to the school official’s religious or moral convictions.” This provision of the bill, however, did not specifically state whether that applies to interactions with students.
The proposed regulations would apply to any public elementary, secondary, and charter school. However, the rules also would not apply to a school’s curriculum for biology, anatomy, or sexual education courses if the curriculum is deemed to have “artistic or antropological significance.”
The bill aligns with broader efforts from Republican lawmakers in several states to regulate gender identity issues in schools, including participation of transgender student athletes in school sports. In 2023, former Missouri Gov. Mike Parson approved a law that requires student athletes to compete on sports teams that align with the sex assigned at birth.
SB 117 had one reading on the Senate Floor on Jan. 8, but has no other scheduled hearings as of Wednesday, according to the Missouri Senate’s bill tracker.