ACLU of Indiana challenging law restricting education

By Mia Hilkowitz mhilkowi@iu.edu | @MiaHilkowitz

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit June 9, 2023, challenging House Enrolled Act 1608, a law which prohibits Indiana teachers from teaching human sexuality in kindergarten through third grade. HEA 1608, which faced statewide backlash and controversy, was signed by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb in May and is set to take effect July 1. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Indianapolis Public constitutional due process and First Amendment rights, according to an ACLU of Indiana press release.

While HEA 1608 prohibits instruction on human sexuality, school employees are not prohibited from responding to direct questions about gender and sexuality from students. Additionally, HEA 1608 requires schools to notify parents or guardians within five days if an unemancipated minor requests to use a different name or set of pronouns at school.

Smiley also alleges HEA

“instruction” and “human sexuality” are not defined in the legislation. The lawsuit states because these terms are so broad, Smiley cannot determine how she should conform her instruction to the law without losing her teaching license.

Smiley, who will teach first through third grade this upcoming school year, maintains a classroom library with books addressing LGBTQ+ issues and topics, such as the biographies of Harvey Milk and Elton John, according to court documents. The classroom library also holds the book And Tango Makes Three, a picture book based on the story of two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo in New York who raised a chick together.

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE Protesters pack the hall outside the Indiana House of Representatives during the education committee hearing on HB 1608, also known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill Feb. 20, 2023, in Indianapolis. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit, June 9, 2023, challenging the bill.

Court documents state Smiley does not know whether having these books in a classroom library qualifies as “instruction on human sexuality.” The lawsuit also states Smiley does not know if she can allow discussion on issues in the books – such as same-sex relationships and AIDS – in the classroom, even if students wish to discuss or ask questions about these topics.

“HEA 1608 is written so broadly that it would be next to impossible for teachers to determine what they can and cannot say to students,” ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said in the press release.

“In addition, teachers have a First Amendment right to express themselves as private citizens outside of the classroom, including in the school’s hallways, playground, or before and after school, but the vagueness of this law would certainly have a chilling effect on those rights.”

The ACLU also states in the lawsuit that “instruc- tion” may be interpreted to include all interactions with students, even interactions outside of Smiley’s classroom.

“During the period of time that she is in the school’s hallways, playground, or before and after school, she has the right to engage in private speech that is protected by the First Amendment,” the lawsuit states. “She certainly has that right when she is outside of the school’s property. Nevertheless, the vague and uncertain meanings of ‘instruction’ and ‘human sexuality’ impose a chill on her ability to exercise her right to express herself as a private citizen on matters of interest to the public.”

The ACLU and ACLU of Indiana also filed a lawsuit in April challenging Senate Enrolled Act 480, which prohibits Indiana physicians from providing gender transition procedures to minors. The law also bans genderaffirming care including puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and certain surgical procedures for minors in Indiana.

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Danny William (they/them) is a sophomore studying media.

June 28, 1969 changed the course of queer history forever.

Many of us know the story. After a police raid, patrons of the New York City gay bar Stonewall Inn, fed up with years of harassment, fought back. They rioted, throwing impromptu projectiles at the police and finally making their voices heard. The protests and riots lasted for five more days.

The aftermath of the Stonewall Uprising was the beginning of the modern gay rights movement. It sparked various organizations and groups who radically fought for the acceptance of queer people. And, of course, it birthed Pride marches, the first of which was held on June 28, 1970 – the first anniversary of the uprising.

Since then, a lot has changed. Same-sex marriage is now allowed in all 50 states. As of last year, 64% of Americans support laws protecting transgender people from discrimination.

However, a lot still hasn’t changed. In the 2023 legislative session, 72 anti-LGBTQ bills were passed into law across the states. Presidential candidates are using transpho-

DANNY’S DIATRIBES

Pride is a riot

bic talking points to get votes. Frankly, it feels like we’re going backward.

In the face of growing discrimination, we need to look to our past. The relative freedom queer people enjoy today was won by radical people who often weren’t afraid to get messy with their activism. We need to fight for our rights just as our queer ancestors did decades ago or we’re going to lose them for good.

In the wake of Stonewall, LGBTQ activism groups sprouted up across New York City and the country. The Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was just one. The group organized protests and fundraisers to help support the LGBTQ community at large.

The GLF focused on radical politics, fighting against the heteronormative, white supremacist society that oppressed its members. Though the organization was short-lived, its work inspired further coordination and conversation between queer activists.

There was the Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries, a group founded on mutual aid by Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. In a time when many transgender people had to turn to prostitution to make ends meet, the organization worked to provide housing and basic needs to transgender people across New York City.

There was also the Gay Activists Alliance, which utilized the media to draw attention to LGBTQ issues. The group organized protests and “zaps” – guerrilla demonstrations designed to pull in the press – to fight back against oppression at the governmental level.

This isn’t to say that these groups were without fault – that’s why there were so many of them. Many queer activists groups at the beginning of the modern gay rights movement were plagued by the same internal controversies that plague the queer community today.

However, even if they split the movement into fragments, these controversies and questions are necessary. We always need to be pushing our understanding of liberation forward by learning from the perspectives of others. You can’t understand everything simply through your own experience.

There is a throughline between all these myriad groups – revolution. While they may have varied on the political spectrum, all of them were doing some-