Alabama Representative Mack Butler (R) is steadfast in his mission to refocus public schools on core academic subjects — as opposed to LGBT ideology.

During the last legislative session, Butler sponsored House Bill 244, which aimed to “prohibit classroom instruction” in public schools “related to gender identity or sexual orientation.” The bill also sought to ban education employees from displaying specific flags and insignia or referring to students by pronouns inconsistent with their biological sex. Although it passed the House, the bill stalled in the Senate. Undeterred, Butler and two others state reps have pre-filed House Bill 23 for the 2026-2027 school year, which carries forward the same objectives.

Butler and his supporters argue this is a “very important bill” — especially “to a lot of parents who feel like there is an intentional indoctrination and sexualization of their children.” As the representative stated, “There is a dissatisfaction from parents about what we are doing with public schools. In order for our public schools to be successful, we need to stop this nonsense.”

LGBT activists have criticized the legislation, claiming it seeks to “erase their community.” For example, LGBT activist Caryl Lawson, vice president of Prattville Pride, believes the bill is harmful. As she put it, “By forcing teachers in a classroom environment to discriminate against these children, it puts them at higher risk of bullying and crisis.” Lawson also argued that parents “have a right to teach their kids whatever they want to teach them at home based on their own religious ideologies. What they don’t have the right to do is erase an entire group of people.”

However, reflecting on his time in office, Butler explained, “We don’t have any parents reaching out to us saying they want the teacher teaching sexual orientation and gender identity. I have not had one. I’ve had quite the number of the opposite saying they want it stopped.”

Currently, the state does not allow discussions of gender ideology in public education for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. If passed, this new legislation would expand to prekindergarten through 12th grade, and it would go into effect July 1, 2026. It’s slated for the first reading on January 13, 2026.

This divide in Alabama is reflective of a much larger fight to remove gender ideology from school curriculums across the country — an effort spearheaded by actions from the Trump administration. In January, President Donald Trump signed “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This executive order (EO) defined sex as an “immutable biological classification as either male or female” and invalidated “gender ideology.” The demands of this EO applied to all federal agencies, including the Department of Education.

Shortly thereafter, Trump signed “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” declaring gender ideology and “discriminatory equity ideology” as “anti-American.” In August, the Department of Health and Human Services sent letters to 46 states, territories, and Washington, D.C. demanding they remove “all references to gender ideology” from the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) and sex education materials.

Most notably, however, is how Trump’s team has launched several Title IX investigations into schools nationwide for allowing biological males to compete on women and girls’ sports teams. For schools that do not comply, federal funding has been stripped or paused.

As Alabama fights its own battle over gender ideology in its public schools, the majority of American voters elected Trump with the promise that he would tackle the LGBT agendas that bled into several walks of life under the Biden administration. David Closson, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview, explored the broader implications of these efforts — both at the state and federal level — with The Washington Stand.

“LGBT activists argue that restricting classroom instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation ‘erases’ people,” he stated, “but that fundamentally misunderstands the issue. Every person is made in the image of God, as read in Genesis 1:27, and has dignity and worth.” Closson acknowledged how those in opposition to the bill believe it’s harmful, when in reality, “what’s harmful is … the ideology being advanced.” As he went on to explain, “Gender ideology teaches children that their bodies and biological sex are irrelevant or malleable. That’s not only untrue — it’s deeply destructive.”

In recent years, Closson explained how we’ve witness “skyrocketing rates of confusion and regret among young people pushed into experimental medical interventions. Protecting children from false and harmful teaching is not ‘erasure’ — it’s compassion. Christians believe true freedom and flourishing come when we align our lives with God’s design.” But on concerns about bullying, Closson was unequivocal: “Bullying is wrong — period.” He stressed that every child “deserves to be treated with kindness and respect,” but argued, “You don’t prevent bullying by promoting radical ideology; you prevent it by setting a standard that all students should treat one another with dignity, while also protecting kids from harmful ideas.”

He warned that suggesting children might be “born in the wrong body” fosters confusion, not protection, and urged schools to prioritize truth, fairness, and core academics to reduce bullying without endorsing divisive ideologies. As Closson further noted, “Whether at the state level in Alabama or nationally, it is vital to push back against gender ideology because ideas shape culture. If we teach children that male and female are meaningless categories, we undermine the family, fairness in sports, privacy, and even the basic truths of biology.”

Ultimately, Closson concluded, “Scripture teaches that God created us male and female, and this binary is foundational for human society. A flourishing society depends on healthy families, moral clarity, and a commitment to truth. When schools focus on education, not activism, they prepare students to succeed. Protecting children from harmful ideology ensures that the next generation inherits a society rooted in truth, not confusion.”