A new bill introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly aims to remove books discussing gender identity and sexuality from school libraries and classrooms. If passed, the legislation would prohibit books deemed to contain harmful material for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. For students in seventh grade and older, access to such books would require parental consent.
The bill also includes provisions allowing school teachers and staff to face criminal prosecution if they distribute restricted materials, including books on gender identity and sexuality.
Additionally, it sets strict guidelines for how health and puberty education is taught. One of the key requirements is that teachers must instruct students that “a mutually faithful monogamous heterosexual relationship in the context of marriage is the best lifelong means of avoiding sexually transmitted diseases.”
While state Democrats have previously opposed similar bills, arguing that books on gender identity and sexuality can be beneficial for students exploring their identities, CBS 17 reported that they did not respond to requests for comment on this latest proposal.
The bill is expected to spark debate among lawmakers, educators, and parents as it moves through the legislative process.
In 2024, El Salvador has banned all gender ideology content from their public school system.
“Confirmed: We have removed every use or trace of gender ideology from public schools,” education minister Jose Mauricio Pineda said.
The minister made the confirmation shortly after his office issued a clarification this week stating that gender ideology content no longer appeared in any “guides, books and other educational materials” in schools.
“Care has been taken to ensure that all educational materials and programs, teaching resources, lesson plans, textbooks, administrative documents, websites, learning guides, multimedia objects and other related documentation does not contain or allude to this ideology, completely disassociating it from the work of this ministry,” Pineda continued.
The minister called on the directors, managers, chiefs, and other staff to “take care of the integral education of our students,” asking them to abide by the provisions against gender ideology content “to avoid punitive measures that may result in the termination of their functions, according to due process.”
