Bloomington, Indiana – Indiana House Bill 1608 will now go to Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s desk after passing the House on Monday by a vote of concurrence of 63-28. A concurrence vote signifies that the Indiana House agrees with the changes that the Indiana Senate made to the legislation on April 10.
The law will go into effect on July 1, 2023, if Governor Holcomb signs it.
In its original form, HB 1608 would have prohibited teachers from discussing “human sexuality” with students in kindergarten through third grade, prohibited them from responding to questions about it, and mandated that schools notify and obtain consent from at least one parent if an unemancipated minor requested a change in name, title, or pronouns.
Students no longer require parental approval to use a new pronoun or name, according to the most recent version of the bill. The only requirement is parental notice.
The House also accepted a change made by the Senate that would have prevented teachers from facing repercussions for not using a student’s preferred pronoun or name out of respect for their religious beliefs.
According to the proposed legislation, “sex” refers to “an individual’s biological sex as either male or female based on the individual’s genetics and reproductive biology at birth, including sex organs, chromosomes, and hormones, without regard to the gender that the individual experiences, identifies with, or expresses.” However, “human sexuality” is not defined explicitly in the measure.
18 anti-LGBTQ+ measures, including HB 1608, are being tracked by the American Civil Liberties Union in Indiana at the moment. Senate Bill 480, which forbids medical professionals from giving gender-affirming care to children, and House Bill 1569, which limits the use of gender therapy by the Department of Corrections, are the two that have become laws.
