U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative:
On behalf of our 3 million members and the students they service, we urge you to VOTE NO on H.R. 2616 because it would require educators to betray their students and violate their own professional standards. Votes on this issue may be included in NEA’s report card for the 119th Congress.
This bill represents a major intrusion of the federal government where it does not belong—in curricular issues that should be debated and decided locally, as well as private matters of student identity. School communities would become less safe and less welcoming for many students, as well as educators.
Teachers, counselors, nurses, and other school staff could be required to “out” transgender and non-binary students despite the damaging repercussions. Such students are already at heightened risk of harassment and bullying. This bill would make them even more vulnerable.
In addition, the bill’s overly vague definitions of certain terms could lead to censorship that undermines the essence of a good education: exposure to different, age-appropriate perspectives.
Educators strive to ensure that students have what they need to learn and grow. They work with students and families to build school communities where every student is supported and feels a sense of belonging. Making sure that public schools are safe and inclusive environments where all students—no matter what they look like, where they come from, or how they identify—can thrive and prepare for their future is essential.
Treating a particular group of students as less deserving of respect, autonomy, and privacy—and even, inadvertently, putting them in harm’s way—is the antithesis of educators’ professional obligation: fostering learning environments based on respect, inclusion, and most of all, safety.
Please VOTE NO on H.R. 2616.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Johnson Trinca
Director of Government Relations
National Education Association
