Talking with students about gender identity could land Missouri educators on sex offender registry

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - How your children communicate with teachers and other school staff about gender identity is up for debate right now in the Missouri House of Representatives. Violating this bill known as HB 2885 could force educators to register as a sex offender and lose their jobs. But some fear the outcomes for LGBTQ children will be deadly.

Since fostering a child who came out as transgender, Lynn Barnett has become a lifeline for LGBTQ kids. They come to the social worker for help when they feel isolated or bullied.

“They are struggling with suicidality,” Barnett said. “They’re dealing with self-harm; they’re dealing with depression and anxiety.”

In her experience, most of these negative feelings are fueled from direct family not accepting what they identify as. So school was their only resource for help. She’s worried Missouri lawmakers could eliminate that.

“Where’s the kid going to go? There’s only one choice and that is their closet with a belt,” Barnett worries. “You have not knocked every single support out from under them. And the only thing that kid is going to end up doing is killing themselves.”

This is all part of HB 2885 which makes it a Class E felony for any school staff to commit what’s known as “social transition.” The bill defines this as when “an individual adopts the name, pronouns, and gender expression, such as clothing or haircuts, that match the individual’s [student’s] gender identity and not the gender assumed by the individual’s sex at birth.”

“It’s not for anything other than helping protect the rights of parents,” Rep. Jamie Gragg, who sponsored the bill argued. “Ultimately, when it comes to issues regarding kids, parents need to be the number one seat at the table. The school seems to be taking that control and pushing parents out.”

If convicted, educators would have to register as a Tier I sex offender. The same category as those guilty of sexual abuse, possession of child porn, kidnapping, human trafficking, child molestation, and even sex with an animal. But it doesn’t specify scenarios where parents support their kids transitioning.

“That can be something else that we deal with later,” Rep. Gragg said. “But this is to address when moms and dads aren’t even in the picture for whatever reason. The school seems to be taking that place.”

If passed and signed into law, HB 2885 would officially go into effect Aug. 28th, 2024. Right now, it’s not scheduled for a hearing on the floor or in committee.

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