Utah teachers could not be disciplined for misgendering or deadnaming students in “certain situations,” according to a new bill that would override existing “gender-specific language” workplace policies.
Those situations include instances where a teacher “in good faith” refers to a student by their deadname; refers to a student with pronouns that match their assigned sex at birth rather than their gender identity; or refers to them with pronouns that a child’s parent prefers, which may not align with the student’s gender identity.
The bill, HB250, doesn’t just apply to teachers but all public employees, and it also would prevent public employers from disciplining workers who misgender others because of their own “sincerely held” religious or moral beliefs.
Additionally, if a public workplace specifically requires employees to use gender-specific language “to accommodate another individual,” the bill would require employers to provide a disciplinary exemption and inform employees of it in writing.
Rep. Nicholeen Peck, R-Tooele, the bill’s sponsor, said HB250 is a response to teachers who have contacted her with concerns that they could get in trouble for unintentionally misgendering or deadnaming a student.
While Peck said she hasn’t heard any anecdotal accounts of teachers being disciplined under such circumstances, she hopes to alleviate any worries.
“This bill shouldn’t cause any problems or make any significant changes in schools,” Peck said. “The only difference should be that teachers will not be concerned about walking on eggshells or being disciplined for accidentally saying the wrong thing.”
Marina Lowe, policy director for Equality Utah, called the bill “unnecessary.”
“Are we seeing schools that are taking action against those teachers, or is this just all theoretical and just about messaging and another attempt by the Legislature to target the LGBTQ community?” Lowe asked.
A spokesperson for Granite School District, which mostly serves northern Salt Lake County, told The Salt Lake Tribune for instance that they haven’t seen “any issues related to non-use of pronouns.”
“We do not anticipate any conflicts between HB250 and current practice and policy,” the spokesperson said.
Lowe argued that existing laws already protect employees from disciplinary action over political and religious speech in the workplace. The landmark 2015 “Utah Compromise”, also known as SB296, was the state’s first law providing nondiscrimination protections for the LBGTQ community while also safeguarding religious liberties.
“If anybody feels like, for whatever reason, they are not able to freely exercise their speech rights in the workplace, they can already rely on existing law,” Lowe said.
Aaron Welcher, communications director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, said the bill has the potential to create “hostile environments” for students.
“[If] teachers and other students are allowed to openly disrespect how a person or another student wants to be seen, including using proper pronouns that the student wants … it really creates an issue where then students are not equally able to receive an education,” Welcher said.
He added that the bill could be “so far-reaching” that students wouldn’t have any recourse or mechanism to report the issue.
“Creating a law to specifically protect teachers from unintentionally harming students is not the way that we should be working to better the education for our students,” he said.
When asked by The Salt Lake Tribune what options a student might have if a teacher or staff member repeatedly misgenders them, even if their parent has consented, Peck responded, “Whenever someone mispronounces my name, I just smile and think, ‘That’s OK.’”
“I think people can do that for any mistake a public employee makes. I think most people are being respectful to each other,” Peck said.
HB250 is a revival of a bill that Peck’s predecessor, Tim Jimenez, tried to pass last year. It didn’t make it past the House Rules Committee.
