The Cause: Why We Need to Fight

  I’d like to preface this message with gratitude to the reader. Thank you for your consideration of the cause and the acknowledgement of the struggle that students in Indiana, and many other states, have to go through. We are not looking to fight the school board, the school staff, or any teachers, I want to make it clear that this problem is strictly caused by Indiana State Legislators and their new bill that they have passed that restricts students freedom and breaches their privacy. This bill is not only very harmful to students, but it also affects teachers, parents, and staff members. 

This bill is called HB1608 and was signed into state law on May 4th of 2023. This bill, “Provides that a school, an employee or staff member of a school, or a third party vendor used by a school to provide instruction may not provide any instruction to a student in prekindergarten through grade 3 on human sexuality. Provides that a school employee or a school staff member is not prohibited from responding to a question from a student regarding certain topics. Requires a school to notify in writing at least one parent of a student, if the student is an unemancipated minor, of a request made by the student to change the student's name or pronoun, title, or word to identify the student” (FastDemocracy). In simpler words, grades k-3 will not be provided education on anything related to human sexuality unless the student asks and that schools must contact a parent if a student wants to go by a different name or pronouns in class. This bill includes the requests of nicknames in order to cover up the fact that it was made to specifically target transgender students, who will be put in the most dangerous situation because of this bill, as well as the inclusion of “human sexuality” as to not make it sound as if they are discriminating against LGBTQ inclusion. Apparently the state government would rather give up sexuality in education entirely than allow the existence of queer people to be taught. No matter how they put it, this bill's purpose is to eliminate LGBTQ individuals.

Schools have been put in a situation where they have to walk on eggshells to protect their teachers licenses that could be taken away if a they refer to a student by a nickname or name that they have always gone by, “It’s a stunning waste of time and resources for most parents, and it’s coupled with a group of policies that are openly hostile to transgender students and almost seems like the state wants them punished for being who they are” (Beck). These new rules are a hassle for schools to manage and have angered parents with annoying processes to tell schools what their kid already said. Students are learning that teachers do not trust them when they say who they are. Why should anybody else have to confirm that a student is who they say they are, especially when it comes to something as harmless as a name. These bills pose as protection for the students, when in reality they could not be more of a safety hazard. The issue of a students gender identity being hidden from potentially unsupportive and/or abusive parents is not nearly as detrimental as the issue of transgender students being deprived of a happy and safe work environment and are forced into a place where they are dehumanized and stripped of their right to identify themself. Teachers and staff are forced to go against their morals with the threat of losing their job and their income. 

While this is a walkout, I again place emphasis on the fact that this is in no way against the school board or any teachers. But we should not abide by a school board that is forced against their will to implement policies that go against more than half of the school staff's morals. This bill will have the potential to kill kids. I am not willing to take that risk. I hope you feel the same.

ATTENTION: PLEASE BE PROFESSIONAL AND SERIOUS WHEN CONTACTING ANY LEGISLATOR. WE WANT THEM TO TAKE THIS CAUSE SERIOUSLY.

Here are some senators and representatives in Indiana that supported the signing of this bill that you may contact and advocate for transgender and LGBTQ rights

Michelle Davis, Jake Teshka, Chris Jeter, Rep. Robert Heaton, Sen. Stacey Donato Sen. Jeff Raatz Sen. Gary Byrne

 

SCHEDULE

Date of Walkout:

TBD

Things to bring

Sunscreen
Bugspray
Signs and Markers
Masks/sunglasses/hats (The cause is to protect students privacy and decisions so feel free to protect your image during this)
Pink, Blue, and White colored clothes 
Water Bottle
Snacks

Spread the word beyond Penn, this cause is against a state law, so we will need more than one school working together. We are not working against the school board, no school property should be damaged. 

Here are some senators and representatives in Indiana that supported the signing of this bill that you may contact and advocate for transgender and LGBTQ rights

Michelle Davis, Jake Teshka, Chris Jeter, Rep. Robert Heaton, Sen. Stacey Donato Sen. Jeff Raatz Sen. Gary Byrne

PLEASE READ MORE ABOUT THE CAUSE BELOW

 

Works Cited

Beck, C. and Fradette, R. (2023) Parents annoyed as pronouns law requires Indiana schools to report all nickname requests, The Indianapolis Star. Available at: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2023/08/10/pronouns-law-parents-annoyed-schools-must-report-nicknames-indianapolis-marion-hamilton-county/70562122007/#:~:text=HB%201608%2C%20which%20the%20legislature,of%20receiving%20the%20student%20request (Accessed: 18 August 2023). 

Bill tracking in Indiana - HB 1608 (2023 legislative session) (2023) FastDemocracy. Available at: https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/in/2023/bills/INB00012055/#actions (Accessed: 18 August 2023).