North Carolina Lawmaker Proposing Bill Requiring ‘Gender Appropriate’ Clothing for Transgender Teachers

A lawmaker in North Carolina believes the state may have to step in to regulate how transgender teachers dress while they are at school. In a Facebook post, a Republican state representative, Erin Pare, said she had received phone calls and emails about “the hiring of a transgender biological male, who dresses as a woman music teacher, in one of our local elementary schools.”Ms. Pare said she shared the concerns with the school district where the teacher is employed.“I don’t care how adults choose to live outside of the professional work day. But I will ALWAYS protect our children,” Ms. Pare said. Parents should be able to have access to the education environment most appropriate for their child.”The lawmaker proposed a bill that would require “gender-appropriate professional attire for public school employees.”Ms. Pare’s message did not include specifics about how the state would define “gender-appropriate” clothing. Ms. Pare told a local TV station, WRAL, that she does not want to prevent schools from hiring transgender teachers. “Everybody deserves to [be] treated with respect and dignity, and be able to have a job, especially if they’re really good at their job,” Ms. Pare said. “I think the question is more related to how a biological male adult dressing as a woman would introduce more adult concepts that are age-inappropriate for little children in a public school classroom, and I think that’s the question and the concern from parents and teachers at the school.”The proposal has received criticism from some liberal advocacy organizations. A spokesman for the Campaign for Southern Equality, Adam Polaski, said in a statement, “Transgender people live in every community and work in every field, including education.”“All of us want to feel respected and safe at work, able to do our jobs with confidence and dignity. Proposals targeting transgender people for discrimination and harassment at work … are cruel and likely unlawful,” Mr. Polaski said. In 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found that a charter school’s requirement that girls wear skirts violated students’ equal protection rights. The court said the dress code was based on stereotypes about girls’ “proper place” in society. A year later, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up an appeal by the charter school.

North Carolina Lawmaker Proposing Bill Requiring ‘Gender Appropriate’ Clothing for Transgender Teachers

North Carolina Lawmaker Proposing Bill Requiring ‘Gender Appropriate’ Clothing for Transgender Teachers

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