On Wednesday, March 29, 2023, the Kentucky General Assembly acted to override the Democratic gov. Andy Beshear’s Veto of the controversial Senate Bill SB150. 

The bill includes banning “gender-affirming” care such as Puberty Blockers, Hormones, and surgeries for kids under the age of 18. The bill also wants to regulate any lessons taught with gender identity and sexual orientation, halting teachers from using a student’s preferred pronouns or name if they were not assigned their sex at birth. This is also preventing transgender students from using the bathroom with their corresponding gender. 

This is globally known as the most “extreme” anti-LGBTQ piece of legislature in the United States by pro-LGBTQ rights also including parental rights, Human rights, Kentucky Department of Education, student pronoun usage, and limits on authority. 

In the veto message by Governor Andy Beshear, “Senate bill 150 is too much government interference in personal healthcare issues and rips away the freedom of parents to make medical decisions for their children. Senate Bill 150 further strips freedom from parents to make personal family decisions on the names of their children and how people should refer to them.”

Kentucky Department of Education, concerning parental rights and a student’s use of pronouns, prohibits district or school policies with the intent of keeping student information confidential for parents, prohibit a school district from requiring school personnel or pupils to use pronouns for students that do not conform to that student’s biological sex; provide school districts and district personnel authority to seek emergency medical services for a student. 

The changes in the state of Kentucky are still pending. 

Fort Thomas Independent Schools Superintendent Brian Robinson said, “We are still working on it and within the process, there are interesting steps we have to take as a district. We have a school board meeting to talk about everything, I don’t know if the use of pronouns and bathroom will change drastically and we try to meet student needs and work with families.” 

He added “There won’t be able to have a lot of change or flexibility within the schools as of right now” 

I think that not only is this taking away human rights but this is taking parental rights. This is turning teachers and administrators into investigators. They are now turning what should be a safe place into an intolerable one. 

According to the Trevor Project, 1 in 5 trans and non-binary youth commit suicide and with this going on the suicide rates will only be going up.

In 2023, state governments, in particular in this case, Kentucky, are still focusing on taking away human rights just because they don’t agree with it. 

School should be a place where people and children should feel comfortable but instead, they have to go into the building wondering if they will be judged and treated differently than other students. 

The next Highlands High School board meeting will be on May 8th, 2023, for the discussion of the SB 150 bill.