Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB 361 declaring misgendering of transgender students not discrimination

On April 25, 2023, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 361, sponsored by Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage, establishing in state law that referring to a fellow student by a sex or a name they do not claim — practices known as misgendering and deadnaming — is not legally discriminatory behavior. The bill carves such conduct out of the discrimination protections in Montana's education laws, so that a student who repeatedly calls a transgender classmate by the wrong sex or a prior name is not, on that basis alone, engaging in unlawful discrimination. The measure was amended in the House to preserve schools' ability to discipline conduct that rises to the state's definition of bullying.

HB 361 passed the House 66-32 on February 16, 2023 and the Senate 30-20 on April 7, 2023, both on largely party-line votes. Sponsor Ler framed the bill as protecting the free-speech and religious beliefs of students who view gender as strictly binary, arguing children should not have "somebody else's beliefs forced on them."

Opponents — including LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, Democratic legislators, educators, and transgender Montanans — argued the law singles out transgender and nonbinary students by denying them a protection against harassment that other students retain. Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, a transgender lawmaker, said the measure was "inherently discriminatory" because it created two standards, allowing a trans student to be repeatedly misgendered while a cisgender student would not be subjected to the same conduct without recourse. The Human Rights Campaign called on Gianforte to veto the bill, describing it as part of a wave of measures targeting transgender Montanans during the 2023 session.