SB 22 - This act establishes provisions relating to the protection of children.TEACHING OF DIVISIVE CONCEPTS
Under this act, it shall be the policy of the State Board of Education not to promote or allow divisive concepts, as defined in the act, in public school curricula or instruction. (Section 160.2550)
This act is identical to SB 638 (2022), SB 676 (2022), SB 734 (2022), SB 1184 (2022), SB 5 (2021 1st Extraordinary Session), and SB 586 (2021) and similar to SB 694 (2022).
PARENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS
This act creates the "Parents' Bill of Rights", which provides parents of a child attending a public school in this state the right to participate in and direct the education of their child and to know what is being taught in the child's school. The act includes certain enumerated rights, as described in the act. The act also requires the public schools of the state to take all actions necessary to promote, preserve, and protect such rights.
Finally, the act prohibits a school or school employee from compelling a teacher or student to adopt, affirm, adhere to, or profess ideas in violation of Title IV or Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, as described in the act. (Section 161.841)
This provision is similar to HCS/HB 1858 (2022), HB 2195 (2022) and to a provision in HCS/SS#2/SB 761 (2022), HB 1474 (2022).
SAVE WOMEN'S SPORTS ACT
This act establishes the "Save Women's Sports Act."
No athletic team or sport designated for biological females, as defined in the act, shall be open to students that are biological males, as defined in the act.
No governmental entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization shall take any adverse action, as described in the act, against a school for maintaining separate interscholastic or intramural athletic teams or sports for students that are biological females.
No public or private middle school or high school or a public or private institution of postsecondary education that has biological males playing biological female’s sports shall be eligible for money appropriated by the General Assembly. (Section 167.780)
This provision is identical to SS/SCS/SB 781 (2022) and is similar to SB 503 (2021).
MISSOURI SAVE ADOLESCENTS FROM EXPERIMENTATION (SAFE) ACT
This act establishes the "Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act". Under this act, no physician or health care provider shall provide gender transition procedures to any minor or refer such minor to another health care provider for such procedures. This prohibition shall not apply to services for minors born with medically verifiable disorders of sex development; treatment of any infection, injury, disease, or disorder caused or exacerbated by gender transition procedures; or procedures undertaken because the minor suffers from a condition that would place him or her in imminent danger or death or impairment of a major bodily function unless surgery is performed.
Any health care provider referring for or providing gender transition procedures for minors may be subject to discipline by his or her professional licensing board for unprofessional conduct. The provision of gender transition procedures to a minor in violation of this act shall be considered grounds for a cause of action against the health care provider, as described in the act. (Section 191.1720)
This act is identical to SCS/SB 843 (2022) and is similar to HB 2649 (2022), 442 (2021), HB 2210 (2020), and to provisions in SB 848 (2020), SB 842 (2020), HB 1721 (2020), and HB 2051 (2020).
JOSH NORBERG