North Dakota government veto stands, blocking bill that would prohibit pronoun use in the classroom
The bill would have prohibited public school teachers and employees from acknowledging the personal pronouns a transgender student uses
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s (R) veto against a bill that would prohibit pronoun use in the classroom remained despite lawmakers’ efforts on Monday to override it.
A few days after Burgum’s office announced the veto and the Senate overrode it, House lawmakers failed to garner the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto.
The bill would have prohibited public school teachers and employees from acknowledging the personal pronouns of a transgender student unless they received permission from the student’s parents and a school administrator.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}North Dakota legislators were unable to override Republican Gov. Doug Burgum's veto of a bill banning the usage of transgender pronouns in public schools absent parental and administrative approval. (Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP, File)
The bill also included language that prohibited government agencies from requiring employees to acknowledge the pronouns a transgender colleague uses.
"The teaching profession is challenging enough without the heavy hand of state government forcing teachers to take on the role of pronoun police," Burgum had said in a letter to state lawmakers announcing his veto.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Burgum also cited that the First Amendment protects teachers from speaking contrary to their beliefs, and existing law protects the free speech rights of state employees, he added.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, governor of Arkansas, speaks while unveiling the Arkansas LEARNS education bill at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The legislation is the latest of bills that focus on transgender rights and issues. Three Republican-led states recently passed legislation that restricts transgenders from using bathrooms and other facilities that is consistent with their gender identity. Idaho is the third state this week to enact such a law which will take effect on July 1st, joining Republicans Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Idaho law allows a student who encounters a transgender student using bathroom or locker room facilities that are inconsistent with their biological sex assigned at birth is able to sue the school within four years.
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Brad Little, Governor of Idaho speaks on the 2nd day of the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) Washington, DC conference at Gaylord National Harbor Resort & Convention. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Huckabee Sanders and Reynolds last week signed a similar bill into law that bars transgender people from using school facilities consistent with their gender identity.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At least 17 bills related to who can use bathrooms have been introduced in 11 states so far this year.
Similar laws have been enacted in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.