Ohio is joining the ranks of conservative states seeking to restrict instruction of “gender ideology” in schools after Governor DeWine signed a new education bill Wednesday that limits such classroom discussions. 

The legislation, House Bill 8, is known as the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law, yet critics have given it a different name: “Don’t say gay.”

Ohio’s new education law originated as a proposal to require parents to be informed about health care or “sexually explicit” material taught in schools, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. However, as the legislation moved through the legislature, it became a broader bill aimed at preventing “gender ideology” from being taught to some of Ohio’s youngest students.

The bill bans the instruction of sexuality content in kindergarten through third grade. House Bill 8 elaborates that “oral or written instruction, presentation, image or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology” are topics that are prohibited from being discussed through third grade.

Schools will also have to give parents notice of “sexually explicit” materials, such as pictures, drawings, or movies that include sexual conduct, taught in the classroom so that they can opt their children out of such instruction if they wish. Additionally, school officials will be required to notify parents if their children ask to be identified as a different gender at school. 

While the legislation aims to crack down on “sexually explicit” materials in schools, it also requires school districts to develop plans to let students leave the campus for religious instruction if their parents request it. School districts in Ohio have been allowed to decide for themselves whether students can be released for religious instruction, and the new law changes that. Since the Supreme Court’s 1952 Zorach v. Clauson decision, schools have been allowed to let students leave for part of the day for religious instruction. 

Mr. DeWine told reporters on Wednesday that the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law was crafted due to parents’ desire to know more about what is happening in their children’s lives. He said, “They’re the first teachers, they’re the best teachers, and that’s very, very important.”

The president of the Center for Christian Virtue, Aaron Baer, celebrated the law in a statement. “Parents, not government bureaucrats, should be making healthcare and education decisions for their kids,” he said. “H.B. 8 protects children by safeguarding parents’ rights to make important decisions for their children.”

Critics of Ohio’s new education law have labeled it the “don’t say gay” law. The ACLU of Ohio posted on X, the law “not only censors teachers and harms LGBTQ+ students, but also disrupts learning and undermines the inclusive mission of public education.”

The “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law is similar to Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education Act,” which was also dubbed the “don’t say gay” law by its critics. That law prohibits classroom instruction of gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade. 

In May 2023, Governor DeSantis expanded the law to prohibit teachers from discussing LGBT issues that are not “age appropriate or developmentally appropriate.” The law faced a multi-year legal challenge that ended in March 2024 as the Florida Department of Education agreed to issue a memo that clarified the law did not ban all discussion of LGBT topics in schools. 

Ohio’s “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law will take effect 90 days after Mr. DeWine’s signature.