BISMARCK – The North Dakota State Senate overrode the governor’s veto Thursday on a bill prohibiting the government from requiring certain pronouns.
Senate Bill 2231 seeks to prohibit a government entity from mandating a teacher use the preferred pronouns of a student. The bill also prohibits public schools from adopting policies or instructions regarding expressed gender unless required by federal law, though the school would still need to seek approval from the guardians of a specific student concerning their expressed gender.
Sen. Diane Larson, R-Dis. 30, Bismarck, said the Senate received a bill to mandate pronouns that aligned with a person’s expressed gender and a bill to mandate pronouns that align with a person’s sex, both which were struck down in the Senate.
SB2231 passed the Senate 37-9, more than the two thirds necessary to override the veto. The bill will be sent to the House which has previously passed the bill three votes shy of two thirds.
