Overview
- On July 28, Rep. Erin Paré publicly suggested a state law requiring school employees to wear professional attire that matches their biological sex after citing constituent complaints about a transgender elementary-school music teacher.
- Paré has not filed a bill and said she is unsure of the legal boundaries for such a law, telling reporters her main concern is keeping gender-identity topics age-appropriate for elementary students.
- The Wake County Public School System reiterated its nondiscrimination hiring policy that includes gender identity, and local lawmakers and civil-rights groups immediately criticized the proposal as targeting transgender staff.
- Legal precedent complicates the idea: the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock decision treats discrimination over gender identity as sex discrimination and a federal ruling left in place struck down a sex-based dress code at a North Carolina charter school.
- Paré’s role as a senior appropriations chair and a contested reelection race give the proposal political weight, and the dispute has produced a threatening social-media message she shared, raising safety concerns as the debate continues.