Ohio Republicans Introduce ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Copycat Bill Expanded to Include Critical Race Theory

Critics of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law have pointed to the negative impact on the mental health of LGBTQ children who don’t feel supported or accepted by their peers and families, including an extremely high rate of attempted suicide.

Two Ohio Republican state lawmakers have introduced a bill inspired by Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, better known as “Don’t Say Gay.” However, the proposal also covers a vaguely-defined category of “divisive concepts,” including so-called critical race theory (CRT).

The bill has no name apart from its designation as House Bill 616 and was introduced by state Reps. Mike Loychik and Jean Schmidt on Monday. If it becomes law, public school teachers in kindergarten through third-grade classes would not be allowed to “teach, use, or provide any curriculum or instructional materials on sexual orientation or gender identity.”

For grades four through 12, the bill would restrict instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity to lessons “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

The language of the bill is nearly identical to Florida’s House Bill 1557, which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law late last month. That law has aroused outrage nationwide, was denounced by US President Joe Biden, and has sparked extensive protests in Florida schools, including walkouts by thousands of students chanting, “We say gay.”

However, HB 616 goes even further, banning school district boards from adopting textbooks, instructional materials, or academic curricula “that promotes any divisive or inherently racist concept,” and bans teachers from teaching lessons, or obtaining credit for attending seminars that provide instruction on such topics.

“‘Divisive or inherently racist concepts’ include all of the following: (a) Critical race theory; (b) Intersectional theory; (c) The 1619 project; (d) Diversity, equity, and inclusion learning outcomes; (e) Inherited racial guilt; (f) Any other concept that the state board of education defines as divisive or inherently racist,” the bill goes on to state.

The Ohio bill is strongly opposed by the state’s education organizations, including the Ohio Education Association, the Ohio Federation of Teachers labor union, and the Columbus Education Association, all of which have issued statements denouncing it.

“This is yet another attempt by Ohio’s legislative majority to sow division in our schools and communities instead of working to solve problems that Ohio students face,” OFT president Melissa Cropper said in a Tuesday statement.

“We want legislators to learn from the mistakes of other states that have passed so-call ‘divisive concepts’ bills that in actuality ban honest and age-appropriate books and curriculum and force schools to educate about ‘both sides’ of the Holocaust & the civil rights movement,” she added. “These bills are reprehensible and it’s time for these legislators to come together with parents, educators, and students to address the actual issues in our schools to make sure that all Ohio students are receiving the world-class educational opportunities they deserve.”

A law passed last June in Texas similarly banned the teaching of “critical race theory” and LGBTQ topics, as well as a long list of books on those topics and others, such as abortion, women’s rights, and Mexican-American civil rights, from school libraries.

South Dakota has its own version of the Ohio bill, HB 1012, which describes itself as aiming to “protect students and employees at institutions of higher education from divisive concepts.”

The term “critical race theory” has been incorrectly applied by conservative critics to all US history lessons that highlight the country’s white supremacist past and the ways laws, regulations, and social and cultural trends from that era have persisted into the present.

Focusing on fighting these lessons became a major focus in the aftermath of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests that swept the United States after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Protesters demanding justice for Floyd and other victims of police and vigilante violence also demanded an end to the veneration of the Confederacy, a pro-slavery rebellion in the 1860s that sparked the US Civil War and was celebrated by white supremacists long after its defeat.