North Carolina Senate OKs limits on LGBTQ school instruction

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Associated Press/Report for America

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Republican-controlled Senate has passed a bill requiring teachers to alert parents before calling their child by a different name or pronoun. While sponsors say the bill is needed to keep parents informed about what their children are being taught in public schools, critics say it would make schools unsafe spaces for LGBTQ and questioning children to explore their identities. The proposal, which passed the Senate 29-18 on Tuesday, would also prohibit instruction about gender identity and sexuality in K-4 classrooms. It now heads to the House, where Republicans are one seat shy of a supermajority and likely would need some Democratic support to push it through.