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Alaska Must Ensure the Safety of LGBTQ Kids at School

Alaskans Together for Equality Calls On Legislature To Reject Gov. Dunleavy’s Anti-LGBTQ Proposal.

Alaskans Together for Equality today denounced Gov. Dunleavy's HB 105, which targets and discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth, and urged the Alaska Legislature to reject the bill. Advocates and experts say the bill is an attack on Alaska’s LGBTQ youth and their right to safely be who they are at school. The bill is one of more than 150 bills across the country that target LGBTQ youth in education.

“HB 105 does nothing to improve schools and instead would directly harm our trans and gender non-conforming youth,” Elias Rojas, Board President of Alaskans Together for Equality, said. “This bill, and those like it, are turning public schools into political battlegrounds, fracturing communities, and diverting time and energy away from what is most important at school: teaching and learning. We urge our state representatives to reject this bill and to protect Alaska’s LGBTQ youth.”

The bill is similar to other anti-LGBTQ legislation sweeping the country, particularly Florida's “Don’t Say Gay" law. If passed, HB 105 would:

  • Prevent trans youth from using the bathroom and locker room that aligns with their gender
  • Bar teachers from using the correct name and pronouns for trans youth without written parental permission
  • Stop teachers from offering age-appropriate sex education or discussing gender identity and sexual orientation without written parental permission
  • Require teachers to inform parents of their child’s gender identity or sexual orientation, if it has been confided to them.

As stakeholders in the school system and community, parents have many opportunities to have a voice in how schools operate. But advocates warn that it sets a dangerous precedent when some politicians use legislation andbmandates to enforce their personal beliefs on all public school students.

HB 105 was introduced in the state legislature on March 7 and is scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Education on Monday, March 13.

Please see the latest GLAAD Media Reference Guide for best practices for journalists reporting on transgender people and issues.