A federal appeals court just ruled that Indiana's "Don't Say Gay" law — House Bill 1608 — is constitutional, potentially ending a years-long legal fight to protect teachers and students in the state's classrooms.

The law bans any "instruction" on "human sexuality" for students in prekindergarten through third grade. But as Kayla Smiley, an Indiana teacher who challenged the law, pointed out: what does that actually mean? Can a teacher explain why using "gay" as an insult is wrong? Can she keep a children's book about a famous LGBTQ+ person on her classroom shelf? The law doesn't say — and that vagueness is exactly the problem.

Rather than clarify the law, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that teachers like Smiley will have to wait until they're individually investigated or disciplined before a court will help them. That's not protection — that's a trap.

Teachers shouldn't have to choose between supporting their students and keeping their jobs. LGBTQ+ kids are in every classroom, including in Indiana's K–3 classrooms, and they deserve to feel seen and safe. When teachers are afraid to speak up — afraid to correct a slur, afraid to have an inclusive book on their shelf — those children pay the price.

We're calling on the Indiana General Assembly to repeal or revise House Bill 1608 to clearly protect teachers' rights to maintain inclusive, supportive classrooms — without fear of punishment.