LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A proposal to prohibit schools from blocking access to school facilities or activities based on gender identity has been tacked onto a bill under consideration in Carson City.
Assembly Bill 423 (AB423) initially targeted the Clark County School District Board of Trustees in an attempt to prevent important votes from taking place after midnight when meetings dragged on and public participation dropped. But the amendment on gender identity will bring more attention as the bill comes up for approval. The amendment would apply to all school boards in the state.
The amendment says:
“A board of trustees shall not adopt a policy that limits the access of a pupil because of race, religious creed, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ancestry, familial status or sex, to school facilities or activities.”
It goes further, imposing a fine of up to $5,000 per day that the policy is in effect.
A bill by Republican lawmakers that took the opposite approach — establishing the gender listed on a birth certificate as the only thing that matters in sports participation — died in committee when Democrats refused to bring it to a vote (AB374).
Since then, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo hasn’t commented directly on the issue, but he has signed a letter opposing federal changes to Title IX that would expand the meaning of sexual discrimination to include gender identity issues. That change would withhold federal funds to enforce gender equity in sports.
AB423 received approval in the Assembly before the amendment was added in the Senate. If the bill passes in the Senate, the Assembly would have to approve the amendment before the bill could go to Lombardo’s desk.
