Hours After Trump’s SOTU Rant Against Trans Kids, House Republicans Introduce Nationwide School ‘Don’t Say Trans’ & Book Ban Bill Defining Trans People as “Sexually Explicit”

One of the most extreme federal anti-trans bills yet, Republicans' H.R. 7661 would prohibit schools from “promoting” or "facilitating" anything involving “gender dysphoria” or “transgenderism.”

Trump ranted about support for trans kids in schools during yesterday’s State of the Union address

This morning, House Republicans introduced a new bill aimed at censoring the mention of trans people in schools. The bill, H.R. 7661, bans all federally funded K-12 schools from “developing, implementing, facilitating, hosting, or promoting anything” that “includes sexually oriented material,” with “sexually oriented material” being defined to include anything “involving gender dysphoria or transgenderism.”

This move came just hours after Trump railed against schools “secretly socially transitioning” trans kids during his State of the Union address, which he finished off with a demand for a nationwide ban on trans kids being affirmed in schools. In fact, during the tirade, Trump actually hinted at the idea that trans people shouldn’t be discussed at all, rambling about how “wrong” it is for him to even need to talk about it:

“And who can believe that we’re even speaking about things like this? 15 years ago, if somebody was up here and said that, they’d say, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ But now we have to say it because it’s going on all over—in numerous states—without even telling the parents. But surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will. Who would believe that we’re even talking about this?

“We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately.”

Now, it seems House Republicans are answering his call. Most notably, H.R. 7661 is incredibly broad: it applies to schools simply “hosting” and “facilitating” anything involving mention of “gender dysphoria or transgenderism.” Thus, under it, virtually all K-12 schools—excluding the few that don’t receive federal funding—would be barred from mentioning or acknowledging trans people in any way.

This wouldn’t only prohibit lessons—including sex education programs—from mentioning trans people but also ban any books mentioning trans people and any school clubs—like GSAs or support groups—that discuss trans people. Additionally, because of its vagueness, it may also force trans teachers into the closet and prevent schools from affirming trans kids’ identities out of fear of retribution.

Another glaring issue is the fact that it would codify the right-wing idea that trans people are “sexually explicit.” Under H.R. 7661, the only other thing designated as being “sexually explicit” is depictions of sexual intercourse as defined under 18 U.S.C. § 2256. Equating being trans to this is both harmful and blatantly false and is actually something not even Florida did when it passed its extreme ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law in 2022.

Worst of all, as mentioned earlier, it would be nationwide. It would mean no schools are safe for trans kids, who are already facing tremendous political pressure. And it would write trans people out of the US education system entirely.

Like Trump’s speech, this signals a growing shift in Republicans’ assault on trans rights. In recent months, conservatives have increasingly pivoted away from sports and gender-affirming care in favor of a narrative surrounding ‘transgender violence’ and kids being indoctrinated into so-called ‘gender ideology.’ And through H.R. 7661, they’re nationalizing this fight.

While this bill may pass the House, it will almost certainly be blocked by Senate Democrats. Because of this, as of today, this thankfully doesn’t present an imminent threat.

But House Republicans are now beginning to push for the elimination of trans people from public life. That alone is cause for concern.