Kentucky Trans Teacher Ban Fails After Intense Backlash in Massive Win for Trans Kentuckians

The bill’s defeat means that deep-red Kentucky will not pass any anti-trans laws during what has been an unprecedented year for anti-trans legislation.

The Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort | Image: Wikimedia Commons

Last Friday, Transitics reported that the Kentucky GOP was quietly attempting to pass an unprecedented ban on trans teachers that additionally would’ve forced providers to diagnose trans people with a mental illness. The proposal, spearheaded by state senator Gex Williams in the form of an amendment to the bipartisan teacher certification bill House Bill 759, planned to weaponize the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 by prohibiting the certification of teachers that have been diagnosed with a disorder on the law’s relatively small exclusions list.

Although the amendment itself fails to make mention of trans people in any way, it hinges on the fact that the exclusions list contains “transvestism, transsexualism, and gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments” alongside other diagnoses like “compulsive gambling” and “kleptomania.” However, it’s worth noting that “transsexualism” and “gender identity disorder” were both removed from the DSM V in 2013 and are no longer diagnosed, meaning the hypothetical teaching ban, as written, wouldn’t apply to any trans people who medically transitioned after 2013.

Williams’ proposal aimed to correct this by additionally forcing all doctors in Kentucky to ignore the current standards and instead diagnose trans people according to the 40-year-old DSM III. As a result, this provision would’ve had the effect of designating being trans as a mental illness for the first time in over a decade.

Last week, HB 759 and its amendment were added to the consent orders, a fast-track process often used for bills that aren’t expected to be controversial. This last-minute play relied on Democrats not being aware of the amendment’s contents, as any objection would’ve sparked a lengthy debate the legislature, which had not yet passed a budget, simply did not have time for. Thus, following the backlash stemming from Transitics’ article, Republicans were forced to withdraw the bill from the consent orders calendar on Tuesday. By the time the legislature wrapped up this year’s session on Wednesday night, HB 759 had not been given a vote—meaning the proposal is now officially dead.

And there’s plenty to celebrate: HB 759’s failure means Kentucky will remain one of the few Republican-controlled states to not have passed any anti-trans laws this year. In a year that has seen unprecedented attacks on trans bathroom access and trans people’s driver’s licenses as well as an increased trend in states wanting to make lists of trans people, this by itself is a massive victory.

Plus, it also shows that public pressure can work. Thanks to the actions of activists and citizens, Kentucky Republicans were unable to get away with quietly passing an attack on trans teachers. It might not happen that often, but this is certainly a win for the entire trans community.

That said, it’s worth mentioning that Williams’ attempt to sneak these provisions through has also resulted in the defeat of a desperately needed teacher certification reform bill. Put a different way, Williams appears to have traded the education of hundreds of thousands of kids for a chance at passing a radical anti-trans proposal.

Now, attention turns to neighboring Tennessee, where Republicans continue to advance a bill that will make a public list of the state’s trans residents. There, public backlash has already resulted in a Democratic-led amendment that aimed to remove the portions of the bill mandating the collection of trans people’s identifying health information—though this attempt was defeated by a party-line vote last week. Still, as HB 759’s fate demonstrates, the battle is not over yet. Hopefully, that fight also ends in a victory.