Schools must get parent OK before changing student gender records

What it does

The bill requires public schools to ask parents first. Schools must get permission before changing a student's name, pronouns, or gender marker on forms. Schools cannot use federal money to teach gender ideology. The rule applies to elementary and middle schools only.

Who it affects

Parents gain a say in school decisions about their children's gender identity. Transgender and non-binary students may face delays without parental permission. Schools must follow the new rules or lose federal money.

One thing to notice

The bill defines gender ideology by pointing to an executive order not in the bill itself. Schools will need to look elsewhere to know what teaching is banned.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

4 cosponsors: 3 Republicans, 1 Independents.

• Apr 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
• Apr 9, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Apr 9, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 12”
• May 20, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On passage Passed by recorded vote: 217 - 198 (Roll no. 184).”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

9 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 10 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $1,908,885 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 48 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 89% of bills with any report.

Tim Walberg, who sponsored the bill, received $795,948 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc — $652,972 in 1 report
• Human Rights Campaign — $439,908 in 2 reports
• American Federation of Teachers — $410,000 in 1 report
• Heritage Action for America — $140,000 in 1 report
• Planned Parenthood Action Fund Inc — $79,708 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• gender ideology — Ideas and teachings about gender, as defined in a 2025 executive order
• federal money — Cash the national government gives to schools to help pay for education
• executive order — A rule made by the president that has the force of law
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.