Lawmakers Pass Bill Barring Discipline Against Students Who Refuse to Use Peers’ Preferred Names, Pronouns
After an intense debate on the Senate floor, state lawmakers approved the bill largely along party lines
By Alex Sakariassen for Montana Free Press
The Montana Senate on Friday cast the final vote approving a bill restricting public schools from taking action against students or staff who decline to use the preferred names or pronouns of other individuals — a move supporters have framed as a protection against compelled speech but opponents have criticized as damaging to transgender students. The controversial proposal now passes to Republican Governor Greg Gianforte for his signature or veto.
House Bill 400, sponsored by Representative Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, has sparked considerable debate since it first appeared in the House Judiciary Committee in mid-February. Mitchell initially pitched the measure, which he titled the “Free to Speak Act,” as a protection of free speech rights in public K-12 schools. The bill would prevent individuals from facing disciplinary action for refusing to use the preferred name or pronoun of another and grant a person legal recourse for any punitive steps taken against them for using the non-preferred names or pronouns. HB 400 extends those same provisions to state employees as well.
The proposal drew support from conservative-leaning organizations including the Montana Family Foundation, but sparked strong pushback from public education advocates concerned about the effects HB 400 would have on educators’ ability to address bullying and harassment among students. It advanced on largely party-line votes through the House chamber and then the Senate Judiciary Committee before landing on the Senate floor April 10.
The ensuing debate was intense and often emotional, with at least one lawmaker visibly shaken during a floor speech. Senators retread much of the ground walked in prior public testimony, and several Democrats decried the bill as part of an overwhelming push in the 2025 session to erode the rights of transgender youth in Montana. The effort, Bozeman Democratic Senator Cora Neumann, argued, has distracted the Legislature from focusing on property tax relief and other critical issues facing Montanans.
“This is a mean, cruel bill,” Neumann said. “We heard earlier in the session, every bill draft costs us $3,000, every day in this legislative body costs the state of Montana $40,000. We have heard 25 anti-trans, anti-LGBTQ bills. What are we doing here? This is not our job. This is not what the people of Montana asked for. This is horrible.”
Democrats were at turns embarrassed, outraged and baffled over HB 400, with Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, stating “I just don’t understand why we’re doing this.” Flowers called on his Senate colleagues to trust local teachers to handle situations in their classrooms, a sentiment echoed by Anaconda educator and Democratic Senator Sara Novak. Her voice cracking, Novak said she has worked hard to respect the unique viewpoints of fellow lawmakers, but did not understand where the concern driving HB 400 was coming from and referenced links documented in data on student health between LGBTQ+ issues and suicide.
“Recruitment and retention issues in education are directly related to this stuff,” Novak said. “Kids are being harassed by kids and adults, teachers and administrators are continually harassed by parents. No one wants accountability, and that’s what this comes down to. When you’re hearing terrible things about the public schools, I would venture to guess that nine times out of 10 it’s because somebody had to be held accountable and the adult didn’t like that.”
During a brief back-and-forth with HB 400 proponent Senator John Fuller, R-Kalispell, Senator Laura Smith likewise spoke to the experiences of public school teachers. Holding her laptop aloft, the Helena Democrat read from a constituent email describing HB 400 as asking educators to “do the impossible: making exceptions for certain kinds of harassing behavior.” Countering Fuller’s assertion that opposition to HB 400 constituted an insult to teachers, Smith argued the bill was an insult to the effort those teachers put into their classrooms.
Several Republicans countered HB 400 was a necessary protection against students and staff being compelled to acknowledge gender expressions that are at odds with their personal values or religious beliefs. Senator Barry Usher, R-Laurel, said he worried that, absent such a safeguard, students could face suspension or expulsion for taking a stand for those values and beliefs, while Senator Jeremy Trebas, R-Great Falls, framed the bill as an effort to respect the free speech rights of all students regardless of lawmakers’ political perceptions of that speech.
As the carrier of HB 400 on the Senate floor, Senator Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, said the legislation is necessary to protect individuals’ “right of conscience,” arguing that the Legislature should “be encouraging our students to celebrate who they were born to be.”
“You cannot change who you are from male to female, you simply cannot do it,” Manzella said. “And you can’t make me believe it and you can’t make me comply with it. It is my God-given right, it is my freedom of speech.”
Senator Wendy McKamey, R-Great Falls, was the lone Republican to speak against HB 400 during the debate. In a level voice, McKamey told the Senate it was “bizarre” to her to see the chamber debating whether to allow a Montanan to be called by whatever name they choose. She urged her colleagues to, “as a matter of conscience,” consider the implications to that person’s rights.
“Why are we trying to bind personal freedom here?” McKamey asked. “I’m stunned.”
During its final vote on the measure Friday afternoon, the Senate passed HB 400 by a 28-20 margin, with three Republicans joining all minority Democrats against advancing the bill to Gianforte’s desk.
The three Republicans opposed were McKamey and Senators John Esp of Big Timber and Russ Tempel of Chester.
"Lawmakers Pass Bill Barring Discipline Against Students Who Refuse to Use Peers’ Preferred Names, Pronouns" should read, "Lawmakers Pass Bill Barring Discipline Against Students Who Prefer to Be Inconsiderate Jerks."