Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act
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Would condition federal elementary and secondary education funding on public elementary and middle schools obtaining parental consent before changing a student's gender markers, pronouns, preferred name on school forms, or sex-based accommodations like locker rooms or bathrooms.
It would also bar use of federal education funds to teach or advance 'gender ideology' as defined in a 2025 executive order, marking a significant federal intervention into how schools handle gender-related policies for young students.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would require public elementary schools and schools covering grades 5-8 that receive funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to obtain parental consent before changing a covered student's gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form, or before changing the student's sex-based accommodations, including locker room or bathroom access. This would apply as a funding condition tied to the Act.
The bill would also amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act's list of prohibited uses of federal funds to add teaching or advancing "gender ideology," using the definition from Executive Order 14168. It would not restrict private schools or schools that decline federal funds under the Act, and it does not address students above middle-school grades.
Key provisions
- 1Would require public elementary and middle schools receiving Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds to get parental consent before changing a covered student's gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on school forms
- 2Would require parental consent before changing a covered student's sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms
- 3Defines covered students as minors who are elementary school students or students in middle grades, using ESEA definitions
- 4Would add teaching or advancing 'gender ideology,' as defined in Executive Order 14168, to the list of prohibited uses of ESEA funds
Who would be affected
Public elementary and middle schools (grades through 8) receiving federal funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, their administrators and staff, parents of minor students in those grades, and transgender or gender-nonconforming students whose accommodations or school records could be affected.
Why it matters
Schools that fail to obtain parental consent before making these changes, or that use federal funds to teach concepts the bill defines as gender ideology, could risk their Elementary and Secondary Education Act funding. Parents would gain a mandated notification and consent role, while some students could lose the ability to have schools independently accommodate gender-related changes.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) (Sec. 2)
Conditions receipt of ESEA funds on obtaining parental consent before changing a covered student's gender markers, pronouns, name, or sex-based accommodations
Amends Section 8526 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7906) (Sec. 3)
Adds teaching or advancing gender ideology, as defined in Executive Order 14168, to the list of prohibited uses of federal education funds
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that H.R. 2616, the PROTECT Kids Act, would have no effect on the federal deficit, with zero impact on direct spending or revenues over the 2025–2035 period.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2616 would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the deficit over the 2025–2035 scoring window. The bill would require public elementary and secondary schools receiving federal funds to obtain parental consent before changing a student's gender markers, pronouns, preferred name, or sex-based accommodations, but CBO expects schools to comply without any change in federal grant spending. Administrative costs to the Department of Education would be insignificant and subject to future appropriations, estimated at less than $500,000 over 2025–2030. CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
Schools would comply by obtaining documented parental consent before altering a covered student's gender-related records or accommodations; failure to do so could jeopardize a school's eligibility for Elementary and Secondary Education Act funding, which the Department of Education administers. The prohibition on using funds to teach "gender ideology" would rely on the existing enforcement mechanism in Section 8526 of the Act, which lists prohibited uses of federal education funds, incorporating a definition drawn from Executive Order 14168 rather than a new statutory definition.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires public elementary and middle schools, as a condition of receiving certain federal funds for elementary and secondary education, to obtain parental consent before changing a student's gender on school forms or changing a student's sex-based accommodations.
Specifically, an elementary school or a school consisting of only grades 5-8 must obtain parental consent before changing a minor student's (1) gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or (2) sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.
Legislative subjects
Education; Elementary and secondary education; Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-441