GONZALES — The Ascension Parish School Board voted to implement a new policy that says students and teachers cannot be punished if they refuse to use a student's preferred pronouns or name.

The school board voted 10-0 at their monthly meeting on Tuesday to implement the policy.

The new policy protects students and school employees from disciplinary action if they refuse to address a student by a name other than the student's legal name or use a pronoun that is "inconsistent with the student's sex."

According to the policy, parents may seek corrective action from the school principal so that students will be addressed according to their sex, which is defined by the district as "a person's immutable biological sex, either female or male, as may be evidenced on his original birth certificate issued at or near the time of birth."

The policy says if the principal refuses to implement corrective action, parents may have cause to sue the school within two years of the infraction.

Ascension Parish's local policy shift comes after the state legislature passed an amendment to the state's existing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy for public schools in June 2024. The revised law excises scholastic DEI protections from the state legal code. The amendment takes effect on Feb. 1.