HF2116: Public Education Training & Curriculum Restrictions

Requires additional oversight, training, and accountability regarding curriculum, educational materials, and training in public institutions of higher education and school districts. It expands the list of individuals responsible for ensuring compliance (including employees, contractors, and volunteers), prohibits the use of any funds or resources for violating activities, and allows for civil actions against school districts without demonstrating personal harm. It also mandates training for relevant personnel on these requirements and prohibitions.

Key Points & Impacts:

• Requires administrators of public higher education institutions to ensure all employees and contractors providing staff or student training receive training about legal requirements and prohibitions regarding specific defined concepts.

• Expands responsibility in school districts to include not only superintendents and employees, but also contractors and volunteers, in ensuring that no curricula, educational materials, or training teach, advocate, encourage, promote, or act upon specific stereotyping or scapegoating based on demographic group membership or identity.

• Prohibits school districts from using any funds (state appropriations or any other sources) to provide curriculum, materials, or training that violate the anti-stereotyping provisions, directly or indirectly.

• Bans the use of district resources, facilities, or staff/student time to support or encourage violations of anti-stereotyping requirements.

• Requires all employees, contractors, and volunteers involved in providing curriculum, materials, or training in school districts to undergo training on compliance with these legal requirements.

• Creates a new civil enforcement mechanism: parents/guardians of students, school district employees, or district residents may file for injunctive relief against districts violating these requirements without needing to show personal harm.

• Clarifies that the new civil enforcement right is an exception to previous limitations on enforceability of the law.

• Does not appropriate new funds, but restricts the use of existing funds for prohibited activities.