​There is a current bill in the House of Representatives that could change the way that public schools function, specifically how their teachers’ will function when it comes to a student wanting to socially transition within their school.

HB 2885 was introduced Feb. 29, 2024 by Republican representative Jamie Gregg from District 140. This bill would establish that if a teacher or school counselor used their official power within the school to help a student socially transition, they would then be charged with a Class E felony. Being charged with this felony would mean they would be required to be registered as a Tier I Sex Offender. 

​To be charged with a Class E felony and registered as a Tier 1 Sex Offender, a teacher or school counselor would have to help a student socially transition in some way. Social transitioning is when the person who is transitioning ‘comes out’ to the world and expresses their gender to other people around them. Minus18, a website that provides information about LGBTQ+ , along with resources, has an article titled Your Guide To Socially Transitioning. This article provides more information about how LGBTQ+ people can socially transition.

For example, a person can be open about what pronouns they use, like they/them and she/they. People can also change their names and go by something different than what they were given by their parents when they were born (i.e a chosen name while their given at birth name would be considered their deadname). They can also alter their appearance to either show themselves more masculine or more feminine depending on what they deem comfortable for themselves. 

A teacher or school counselor could be charged with consequences called penalties if they are charged with a Class E felony. These penalties that would come with being charged is that a teacher or school counselor could be sent to prison for four years or be sent to a one-year jail term depending on the severity of the case. There is also a possibility that they can be fined up to $10,000. Other crimes that fall under a Class E felony can include involuntary manslaughter, domestic assault, and child molestation. 

Being registered as a Tier 1 sex offender will change a teacher or school counselor’s life and career. Those who are registered as Tier 1 sex offenders usually committed a crime that is labeled as sexual misconduct instead of a sexual offense. These offenses are usually non-violent and are seen as having a low degree of threat or danger posed to the public. Crimes that fall under the Tier 1 list include public indecency, crimes against minors or indecent behavior with juveniles, and possession of child pornography. 

​The bill is proposed to go into effect come Aug. 28, 2024, which is right around when the fall school semester for most public schools would begin. The current actions that have been made with the bill is that on Feb. 29, it was introduced and read for the first time to the House of Representatives of Missouri.

On March 1, 2024, the bill was then read a second time in the House of Representatives, where four republican representatives had begun to co-sponsor the bill. These people include Jeff Farnan from District 1, Brian Seitz from District 156, Mazzie Christensen from District 2, and lastly Justin Sparks from District 110.

This action was the last one that has happened within the House of Representatives and there is currently no next hearing scheduled. The bill is also currently not on the House of Representatives’s schedule. 

​If this bill were to pass and go into effect, many have made it known that it would disrupt the teachers’ and students’ lives. Amongst social media, students have made comments about how they would potentially lose a support system if this bill were to go into effect. They feel this way due to Missouri already being a red state politics wise, which in turn already causes them to be afraid to be who they are.

With this bill, they’ve expressed that losing the support system that teachers and school counselors provide, it would cause them to lose their “safe space”. Another con of the bill also includes teachers and school counselors being afraid to do what they view as morally right out of fear they would lose their jobs, and potentially have their lives disrupted with the charges that would come with it.

They have also expressed that it could become detrimental to their mental health with knowing that they could provide help to students who are socially transitioning, but they legally couldn’t without having to deal with the consequences that would come with it.