HB 1557 Statement to School Board, March 21, 2022

 

Greetings.  My name is Rev. George Miller.  I have the privilege of serving Emmanuel UCC, and as Board Member At Large for NAACP #5087.

 

For the past few months it’s been an honor to attend these meetings, witnessing the dedicated work you all do for the sake of our children. 

 

Though I am not a parent, I care about our community, both the teachers and our students.

 

I come here today to share two thoughts regarding House Bill 1557.

 

The 1^st is how disappointed I am in our state’s elected leadership.

 

I am disappointed that those in power do not trust or seem to know our teachers.

 

Many of our teachers were raised here, with a deep love for their students, raised with morals and impeccable work ethic.

 

To assume that our teachers come to class with an agenda, or a desire to talk about nothing but orientation or gender identity is an embarrassment.

 

The teachers I know, give of themselves tirelessly, do their best, and deserve to be commended, not condemned.

 

Second, I am concerned about HB 1557.  It seems our elected officials did not think this thoroughly through.

 

Lines 21-22 state that HB 1557 “prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity.”

 

Lines 97-100 state that instruction of orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through 3rd.

 

Lines 124-151 states what can happen if a concern arises, which includes bringing an action against the school district to obtain a judgement, and a court may award damages and attorney fees.

 

Here is the issue- those who passed HB 1557 didn’t realize that being heterosexual is an orientation.  Being straight is an orientation.

 

A biological boy saying he’s a boy or a biological girl stating he’s a girl is gender identity. 

 

If we follow the letter of the law, it means that we cannot say “Straight”.  Because if we say “straight” we have discussed orientation.

 

Therefore, our heterosexual teachers can not talk about their husband or wife, or show a photo of them with their spouses.

 

It means that when teaching history we cannot acknowledge spouses because that indicates a person’s orientation.

 

We cannot teach our kids that President Washington was married to Martha- that indicates orientation.

 

This means we can not refer to someone as a boy or girl, or male or female, because that is gender identity.

 

Therefore, in current events, we could not refer to Vice President Harris as the first female VP.

 

If our teachers cannot discuss orientation or gender, every book in the classroom and library will have to be gone through.

 

If there is a reference in any book, to a straight relationship or Jack being a boy and Jill being a girl, it will need to be removed.

 

Does this mean that teachers can no longer be respectfully addressed as “Mr.”, “Miss”, “Mrs.” or “Sir”?  These titles are clearly gender based.

 

HB 1557 is written in such a way that any parent, at any time, can find fault in any discussion of orientation and gender.

 

They can go through the process of parental notification, special magistrate, and disputes that incur cost and fees.

 

My heart grieves for our students; my heart grieves for our teachers who only want to educate, and my heart grieves for you, our school board, who only want what’s best for all.

 

Thank you for your time, your wisdom, and your compassion.

 

Faithfully,  Rev. George Miller