Kansas pronoun bill sparks bipartisan concerns of turning ‘classrooms into courtrooms’

by Anna Kaminski, Kansas Reflector

February 19, 2025

TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to legislation that would ban school district employees from using names or pronouns other than a minor student’s corresponding biological sex or birth certificate without parental permission, received preliminary approval Wednesday from the Kansas Senate.

Senate Bill 76 is among a slate of anti-trans bills making their way through the Legislature this year. In a 40-minute debate on the Senate floor, Democrats and Republicans questioned the bill’s validity.

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The bill, called the “Given Name Act,” would create a new civil cause of action and prohibit any district, college or university employees “from suffering any adverse employment actions for declining to address an individual by a name or pronoun inconsistent with the individual’s birth certificate or biological sex,” the bill reads.

Kansas schools do not require a student’s birth certificate to attend.

Freshman Sen. Patrick Schmidt, a Democrat from Topeka, attempted to introduce an amendment to the bill that would change its contents to instead characterize it as the “right to bully” act.

“This bill legalizes bullying in schools,” he said. “That is the intent.”

Schmidt’s amendment failed with all 31 Senate Republicans voting against, three Democrats voting in favor and six Democrats passing on a vote. Before introducing his amendment, Schmidt asked Wichita Republican Sen. Renee Erickson, who introduced the bill, about the intentions behind the bill.

“The truth,” Erickson said. “And protecting teachers’ and employees’ First Amendment right not to be compelled to use speech that violates their beliefs.”

“I find that a little curious, perhaps a little disingenuous,” Schmidt said.

Erickson said the bill clarifies the confusion school staff experience when confronted with a child who wants to use pronouns or a name other than those that are consistent with the child’s biological sex or birth certificate.

“When this occurred in the school that I was principal at, the staff was very confused,” she said.

Erickson was formerly a middle school principal in the Wichita public school district.

“I think it’s pretty simple. There’s biological fact,” Erickson said. “And when a student wants to contradict that, teachers are conflicted between their belief that this is fact and what their beliefs are and respecting what the student wants to be called.”

The act specifies a teacher can call a student by their chosen pronouns with written permission from a student’s parent. However, students also cannot be compelled to use speech that violates their personal beliefs, Erickson said.

“If a student chooses to call another student by a different pronoun, they are welcome to, but they are not compelled to,” Erickson said. “They cannot be forced to against their personal beliefs, but if they choose to, they are more than welcome to.”

Schmidt cited during debate the disproportionately high rates at which minors who identify as transgender attempt suicide or experience suicidal ideation.

Erickson, after acknowledging that any and every suicide is a tragedy no matter the reason, responded: “It’s not surprising due to their confusion over the most basic biological fact.”

A 2024 study also showed a link between anti-trans legislation and increased suicidality among transgender and nonbinary youths.

Erickson mentioned on the floor the use of “threats” from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas directed toward school districts creating policies related to pronoun use.

Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said the organization is engaged in emphasizing students’ rights to privacy and protection from harassment under civil rights law and the U.S. Constitution.

“If Sen. Erickson finds guidance about what the Constitution says threatening, perhaps that’s an indication that she recognizes that the proposed bill in question has serious problems with its legality,” Kubic said in an emailed statement.

Melissa Stiehler, the advocacy director for Kansas-based social justice organization Loud Light, pointed out that the Senate’s vote to advance Senate Bill 76 came one day following a successful veto override vote in both chambers enacting gender-affirming care bans for minors.

She called Wednesday’s bill a continuing “attack” on transgender children.

“This bill is sloppily written, overly broad, unenforceable and will lead to harassment of both school employees and students,” Stiehler said.

She added: “Rather than coddling the irrational feelings of this overly fragile minority, it may be wise to encourage them to unclutch their pearls and mind their own business.”

Stiehler scrutinized in a press release the bill’s “broad litigation clause.” Republican Sen. Kellie Warren, a Leawood Republican, also questioned whether the bill could expose districts and institutions to increased lawsuits.

The First Amendment generally protects students’ and teachers’ right to free speech and some case law strengthens those protections. Schools cannot force students to engage in speech they disagree with. However, the government, including public schools and universities, has broad authority to limit its employees’ speech if that speech impacts the workplace.

Republican Sen. Joe Claeys, of Maize, said the bill solves one constitutional violation by creating another.

“In my opinion, the Legislature needs to get out of the pronoun business entirely,” Claeys said.

He said the bill creates “a litigation minefield.” It turns “classrooms into courtrooms” and “teachers into defendants,” he said.

“I say we let teachers teach,” Claeys said. “Let the students learn, and keep the courts out of preferred grammatical constructions.”

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.