Although legislation banning classroom discussions of gender identity or sexual orientation in public pre-K-12 schools did not advance during this legislative session, the bill's sponsor believes people are fed up with gender ideology in the classroom.
State Rep. Mack Butler's (R-Rainbow City) bill would ban "gender ideology" and prohibit teachers and education employees from displaying a flag or insignia relating to sexual orientation or gender identity on school property. The bill also prohibited the use of pronouns that do not align with a student's biological sex.
Butler has filed the bill three legislative sessions in a row. In 2024 and 2025, Butler was subjected to committee hearings and floor debates where activists and Democratic lawmakers lambasted him with accusations. Both years, the legislation cleared the House but failed to advance to a vote in the Senate.
Butler filed the bill for the 2026 session. This time, however, it failed even to get a hearing in a House committee.
Some speculated that the bill's stalling was due to timing. With this being an election year at the end of a quadrennium, lawmakers often avoid controversial subjects. However, according to Butler, it was down to a combination of the House Education Policy Chairperson frequently being absent due to a family loss and his being thrust into one of the more fiery debates of the session involving the Public Service Commission (PSC).
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Despite the bill's lack of movement, Butler said he still believes citizens are tired of the repeated attempts across the nation to insert gender ideology into the classroom.
"That kind of stole all the oxygen in the room," Butler said. "I work for the people of my district and the people of the state. My job is to bring whatever is important to them, and people have made me aware that this was an important issue to them. Leave these kids alone with the indoctrination."
He continued, "Transgenderism seems to be a fad that is waning. It seems like the adults are back in charge and making sense out of some absolute nonsense where we were all supposed to pretend along. This reaffirming, it's just absolute nonsense. A man with a prostate, we're supposed to pretend he's a woman."
"That does seem to be waning and backfiring now that adults are in charge and the Trump administration has led the way."
Butler said the bill would bring state law in line with a recent executive order from President Donald Trump, using the threat of cutting federal education funding for schools that continue to push "gender ideology" and other forms of "indoctrination."
"One thing the Trump administration did is they issued an executive order that put a stop to this nonsense, and we are basically codifying that with the legislation," Butler explained.
Even with a more favorable administration in the White House, Butler says he will likely try again to push the legislation through next year.
"We can't file anything until the organizational session and get all these elections over," Butler concluded. But it's probably still a front-and-center issue because most people I talk to say, 'Let's just focus on the curriculum.' We're not doing a proficient job with the curriculum as is; we don't need to wade off into these other areas, especially some that are so offensive to people."
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