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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVN)--Republican lawmakers in Ohio have introduced their own version of a bill that regulates what can be taught in schools about sexual orientation and gender identity.
House Bill 616 borrows concepts from Florida's recently-enacted "Parents Rights in Education" bill, in that it would ban the teaching or distribution of material related to sexual orientation or gender identity to students in grades K through 3.
Critics called Florida's legislation the "Don't Say Gay" bill. What Ohio's bill does not do is ban the discussion of the topic in that age group.
Something else Ohio's bill does that Florida's does not, is forbids teachers in grades 4 through 12 from teaching or using "instructional materials on sexual orientation or gender identity in any manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate". The bill, though, not defining age or developmental appropriateness.
Ohio's proposal would also include a ban on teaching subjects that the Ohio Board of Education defines as divisive or inherently racist. That includes concepts like "Critical Race Theory", and the 1619 Project.