North Dakota bans schools from hiding information about kids’ gender identity from parents
May 6, 2025
North Dakota has passed a law prohibiting school districts from withholding information from parents regarding their children’s gender identity.
The Christian Post reports that Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed House Bill 1144 into law last week after it passed the House of Representatives 75-14 and cleared the state senate 40-7.
The bill, which is part of a nationwide movement to uphold parental rights and to preserve privacy and safety for women and girls, passed mainly along party lines with support coming from Republicans and opposition from mostly Democrats.
Under the new law, school districts are banned from adopting policies related to a specific student’s gender identity without approval from that student’s parents or legal guardian.
According to the Christian Post the bill also bans school officials from withholding or concealing “information about a student’s transgender status from the student’s parent or legal guardian.”
School districts across the nation have faced lawsuits from parents who have learned that school officials were referring to their children using names and pronouns that align with their stated gender preference at school, while referring to the child with their given name and pronouns in communication with parents.
North Dakota’s new law prohibits multi-stall “gender neutral restrooms and shower rooms” and declares, “a restroom or shower room on school grounds, which is accessible by multiple individuals at one time, must be designated for use exclusively for males or exclusively for females and may be used only by members of the designated sex.”
House Bill 1144 expands on legislation passed two years ago that forbids schools from allowing trans-identified people from using restrooms and other sex-segregated spaces that align with their stated gender identity.
North Dakota is one of 19 states that require trans-identified people to use restrooms that correspond to their biological sex in some or all cases.
Photo: top, Credit: Reuters/Tami Chappell