Commonwealth Policy Center

Last Monday, the Covington Independent Public School Board of Education voted to implement a law that protected the conscience rights of teachers and prohibits the coercion of gender-preferred pronouns of students. The law also restricts gender identity and sexual orientation instruction in public schools. Pastor Steve Axtell of Covington, whose son identifies as transgender, shared his story with the board and said, “Teaching LGBT ideology is not our school’s responsibility.” His wife Danielle also spoke powerfully: parents, not school officials, should help children navigate the challenges of gender dysphoria. The Covington school board expressed their reluctance to follow the law. But the policies were approved by the board in a divided vote. Last month, Fayette County Public Schools partially implemented SB 150. A decision from Jefferson County is still to come.