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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB122, barring K-12 teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students

On June 19, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB122, by Rep. Dodie Horton, into law as Act 681, prohibiting public K-12 teachers, employees, and other presenters from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students in any classroom instruction or extracurricular activity that deviates from state-approved content standards, and from discussing their own sexual orientation or gender identity with students at all. The bill passed the House 69-28 and the Senate 28-7 and took effect August 1, 2024. An identical measure had been vetoed by then-Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2023.

Jurisdiction
Louisiana
Location
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Abuses documented

Actors

On June 19, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed House Bill 122, by Rep. Dodie Horton (R-Haughton), into law as Act 681, amending R.S. 17:412. The law prohibits public K-12 school teachers, school employees, and other presenters from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students in any classroom discussion or instruction that deviates from state-approved content standards or curricula, and from covering those topics during extracurricular activities. It further bars school employees from discussing their own sexual orientation or gender identity with students at all.

The measure passed the House 69-28 and the Senate 28-7. The Legislature had passed an identical bill in 2023, which then-Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed; Landry, who took office in January 2024, signed the 2024 version. The law took effect August 1, 2024. Reporting by the Louisiana Illuminator noted the statute is broader than Florida's 2022 "Parental Rights in Education" law, applying to all K-12 grades rather than only the earliest ones, and quoted the Senate sponsor describing its purpose as ensuring parents know when an LGBTQ school employee could speak to their child about the employee's sexual orientation.

Louisiana joined a group of states enacting curriculum-restriction laws that limit classroom acknowledgment of sexual orientation and gender identity and constrain what LGBTQ educators may disclose about themselves.

Why we recorded this

Equal treatment under the law means the government does not single out people for disadvantage because of who they are. Louisiana's Act 681 bars public K-12 teachers and staff from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students outside state-approved curricula, and bars them from discussing their own sexual orientation or gender identity with students at all. This records a state enacting a policy built around a protected characteristic that erases LGBTQ people from the classroom and restricts what LGBTQ teachers may say about their own lives.

Sources

  1. HB122 (2024 Regular Session) — bill record and Act 681 enrolled text, votes, and history — Louisiana State Legislature primary accessed July 15, 2026
  2. Louisiana Legislature passes bill restricting discussion of gender and sexuality — Louisiana Illuminator secondary accessed July 15, 2026

See also