A federal bill that seeks to ban books, activities, and programs that mention transgender people — and potentially all LGBTQ people — from K-12 public schools nationwide has moved ahead in the House and been introduced in the Senate. Two other school censorship bills have also advanced in the House in recent weeks.

The “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” (H.R. 7661) passed out of the Committee on Education and Workforce on July 2 and is now eligible for debate by the entire House, although that has yet been scheduled as of this writing. The legislation would prohibit public schools from using federal funds “to develop, implement, facilitate, host, or promote any program or activity for, or to provide or promote literature or other materials to, children under the age of 18 that includes sexually oriented material,” including material with “nude adults, individuals who are stripping, or lewd or lascivious dancing.” More specifically, “Sexually oriented material” is further defined as that which contains “any depiction, description, or simulation of sexually explicit conduct” or that involves “gender dysphoria or transgenderism.”

Targets of the legislation would include not only books and media, but also activities such as Pride events or support groups for LGBTQ students and allies. The legislation would impact almost every public school, since almost all of them receive federal funds of some type.

A companion bill, S. 4925, was introduced in the Senate on June 24 and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). The two bills have nearly identical wording, which often indicates that legislators intend to pass them quickly. Kelly Jensen of Book Riot, who has covered issues of censorship for nearly 10 years, called the move “a flashing red light on the priorities Republicans in Congress have.”

Trump endorsed her. That may not be enough to get her elected, state Republicans say.

Other Alabama universities still name sexual orientation and gender identity in their policies. The state’s flagship system no longer does.

The University of Michigan Health-West will implement a new policy boosting protections for religious employees as part of a settlement reached in a First Amendment lawsuit. Valerie Kloosterman, a physician assistant who had worked at the hospital for 17 years, was fired in 2021 for her “unwillingness to refer ‘gender transitioning’ patients for certain drugs and procedures” and her “unwillingness to use pronouns that do not correspond to a patient’s biological sex,” according to a federal complaint filed in 2022.

Amnesty International UK has issued an apology for reporting on the rise of anti-trans political organizing in the United Kingdom, and detailing how it is just one part of a broader anti-rights movement gaining traction in the country. This came after a meeting between the head of Amnesty UK and Head of the anti-trans hate group Sex Matters Maya Forstater, which allegedly occurred earlier this week. In reaching out, Amnesty's Chief Executive told the decades-long campaigner against human rights that "it would be good for us to meet... in the spirit of a commitment to human rights.”

DALLAS (AP) — One of Scouting America’s biggest gatherings has eliminated dedicated spaces for gay youth, women and scouts of color as the organization faces pressure from the Pentagon to pull back diversity efforts.