Overview
- Republican Reps. Gary Click and Josh Williams introduced House Bill 693 and promoted it with the Heritage Foundation and Center for Christian Virtue.
- HB 693 would bar juvenile courts and public children’s services from treating a parent’s refusal to affirm a child’s transgender identity as abuse, neglect, or grounds to limit parental rights.
- The measure defines “affirm a child’s sex” to mean recognizing only the sex at birth, using aligned names and pronouns, and excluding gender‑affirming medical care while permitting counseling to keep a child consistent with birth sex.
- The bill would effectively overturn local conversion‑therapy bans and protect teachers from discipline for not using students’ preferred pronouns.
- Enforcement tools include potential loss of state funding and professional licensing consequences for noncompliance, while child‑welfare officials and education advocates dispute the sponsors’ claims about current practice.