NC parents' bill that bars K-3 LGBTQ curriculum clears panel

A Republican measure that supporters say would empower North Carolina parents to better monitor their children’s public school education has cleared a state Senate committee. But the measure approved Wednesday also bars K-3 class curriculum from addressing LGBTQ matters and wades into other contentious issues around pronouns for children and their medical treatment. Bill critics point to the prohibition of instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in lower grades as reminiscent of a new Florida law. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper called the measure “another Republican political ploy” like the 2016 “bathroom bill.” Republicans say the curriculum provision differs from the Florida law.