Last legislative session in the North Carolina General Assembly saw the passing and enacting of three anti-LGBTQ+ bills targeting queer and trans youth. The 2025-26 legislative session kicked off in January. In the months since, several proposed bills aimed at restricting LGBTQ+ healthcare and well-being have made their way through the General Assembly, adding to a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ policies being proposed across the country.
Some of these bills pose a true danger to the health and security of some of North Carolina’s most vulnerable. From bills restricting the treatment of minors for sexually transmitted diseases and mental health care to eliminating all DEI from public education, Republican lawmakers have made it their mission to attack the very foundation on which North Carolina was founded.
The Preamble of North Carolina’s Constitution states:
“We hold it to be self-evident that all persons are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Several proposed bills on the docket for the current legislative session fail to ensure all North Carolinians are protected and valued by the government sworn to serve them. QNnotes has compiled a list of proposed bills in both the state House and Senate targeting LGBTQ+ residents, which could set a precedent and framework for other states to enact discriminatory legislation.
Senate Bill 227: Eliminating DEI in education
SB 227 aims to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives in North Carolina K-12 public schools.
According to the ACLU of North Carolina, classroom censorship efforts such as attempting to remove diversity in classrooms work to effectively erase the history and lived experiences of the historically marginalized: women, people of color and LGBTQ+ people. In addition, these policies censor discussions around race, gender and sexuality impacting people’s daily lives, including North Carolina’s students.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a human rights organization focused on advocating for LGBTQ+ students in public schools, released a report card grading North Carolina on its acceptance of LGBTQ+ youth: the Tar Heel State received a grade of D, citing increased rates of anti-LGBTQ+ bullying. According to GLSEN, North Carolina is home to 63,000 LGBTQ+ youth aged 13-17, including 4,650 transgender youth. Most queer and trans students in North Carolina experienced bullying because of their identity, including 62 percent who were verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation and 28 percent who were physically harassed or assaulted because of their gender identity.
Around 66 percent of victimized LGBTQ+ youth never reported harassment to school authorities. In addition, 62 percent experienced at least one form of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in schools, which disproportionately impacts transgender and non-binary students.
SB 227 passed the Senate and is now making its way through the House, according to the N.C. General Assembly bill tracker.
Senate Bill 442: Anti-trans adoption discrimination
SB 442, which is the same bill as HB 560, would prevent abuse or neglect allegations from being based on not accepting a children’s gender identity. This would put LGBTQ+ youth in North Carolina’s foster system at an increased risk of abuse and neglect, as the state would no longer classify not accepting trans identities as child abuse or neglect.
Also known as the Parents Protection Act, this bill states raising a child “consistent with their biological sex” wouldn’t classify as abuse. In addition, the bill would prevent abuse claims from being filed against biological parents who wish to raise their child as the sex assigned at birth, even if a child wishes to do otherwise. The bill prevents adoption agencies from disqualifying potential adoptive parents if they don’t accept a child’s gender identity, something Rep. Donnie Loftis (R-Gastonia) claims to help with the shortage in eligible foster home assignments for youth.
“I don’t want it to be used as a pre-qualifier that says, ‘Oh, you’re one of those. You are not going to be getting a child because you can’t accept that,’” he told NC Health News when they approached him on the matter.
However, foster youth advocates are criticizing this proposed policy. Gaile Osborne, executive director of the Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina and a foster parent to six children, told reporters it’s not up to foster parents to determine the gender identity of a foster youth. In fact, she called it “overreach.”
“They need safe and loving homes, whatever their pronouns are, and I just don’t think that this is the answer to the question: ‘How do we get more foster homes?’” she said.
SB 442 is currently in the Senate. At the time of this writing it has yet to be scheduled for a vote.
House Bill 519: Restricting minors’ access to healthcare
This bill would revoke the ability for minors to provide consent to certain types of health care services without parental permission. The impacted healthcare restrictions include testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pregnancy prevention such as birth control, substance use treatment and mental health services.
Under the bill, parents would have to consent for their child to receive any of these health services. The bill also grants parents the right to access all of their child’s medical records.
LGBTQ+ youth, particularly gay and bisexual males and transgender youth, experience disproportionately high rates of STIs compared to their cisgender, heterosexual peers. These disparities are influenced by factors like stigma, discrimination and limited access to healthcare, which this bill would further constrict.
According to a study completed by the National Institutes of Health, the odds of substance use for LGBTQ+ youth were, on average, 190 percent higher than for heterosexual youth, making it more important for these young people to access the healthcare they need, oftentimes more than their heterosexual peers.
This bill has passed its second reading in the House and has been referred to the Committee On Rules and Operations of the Senate, according to the General Assembly bill tracker.
HB 606: Anti-trans civil procedure amendment
House Bill 606 modifies the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims specifically related to gender-affirming care. Under this bill, individuals would have up to 10 years after turning 18 to file a malpractice lawsuit tied to medical treatment aimed at “facilitating or perpetuating gender transition.” In contrast, the standard time frame for filing malpractice claims in other areas of healthcare is typically limited to three years from the date of the incident.
The bill also eliminates the existing cap on non-economic damages – such as pain and suffering – for malpractice cases involving gender-affirming care. By comparison, in other medical malpractice cases, non-economic damages are generally limited to a maximum of $500,000.
In addition, HB 606 includes provisions that would ban the use of state funds or public health insurance programs to pay for gender transition surgeries or treatments involving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for individuals who are incarcerated in state prisons or under the custody of the Department of Adult Corrections.
This bill has passed the House and has been referred to the Committee On Rules and Operations of the Senate, according to the state bill tracker.