Elementary Principals’ Enactments of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation: Examining the Influence of Context

This multiple case study examines how contextual elements shape elementary school principals’ enactments of state-level anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Grounded in policy enactment theory, this work draws on interviews from a larger comparative case study to understand how elementary principals in sociopolitically distinct districts enacted North Carolina’s 2023 Senate Bill 49 in their schools. We found that district policy, community culture, instructional resources, and professional judgement informed principal enactments of three legislative provisions: processes for parental objections to materials; instructional bans; and reporting student name and pronoun changes. Principals subsequently adhered to, overcomplied with, or refuted the policy, enacting SB49 in disparate ways despite the influence of similar elements on their practice. This work highlights how contextual factors inform elementary principals’ engagement with anti-LGBTQ+ policy priorities and holds implications for how these policies may in turn impact school community members across varied contexts.