The Florida Board of Education has agreed to expand the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay/LGBTQ” law to all K-12 grades.
The Ban
The original “Don’t Say Gay/LGBTQ” law (actually titled “Parental Rights in Education”), which went into effect last July, prohibits discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grades and restricts it to an undefined age-appropriateness in higher grades.
The state Department of Education yesterday approved a proposal (PDF) that expands the ban to also prohibit lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity from fourth to twelfth grade unless required by state standards or as part of a reproductive health course or health lesson that parents can opt students out of. (I’ll observe here that LGBTQ folks aren’t the ones connecting our identities exclusively with sex and reproduction; anti-LGBTQ folks are.) The policy will go into effect after a procedural notice period of about one month. The department is led by Manny Diaz, Jr. (R), an appointee of Governor Ron DeSantis (R).
Last month, legislation was also introduced (HB 1223) to expand the law in other ways, adding even more restrictions on discussion of or even acknowledgement of LGBTQ identities (such as via using a person’s chosen pronouns), and extending the ban to charter schools and private prekindergarten providers. This legislation is still pending.
The Response
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement about the new rule and other anti-LGBTQ legislation in the state:
There’s nothing wrong with talking about LGBTQ+ people, history, and culture in our classrooms. There’s nothing wrong with children receiving life-saving gender affirming care. Our community poses no threat. The real threat to Floridians is Gov. Ron DeSantis and extremist legislators who are some of the most anti-LGBTQ+ politicians in America.
Joe Saunders, senior political director of Equality Florida, said in a statement:
Let’s put it plainly: this is part of the Governor’s assault on freedom. Free states do not ban books. Free states do not censor entire communities out of the classroom. Free states do not wage war on LGBTQ+ people to score cheap political points for a man desperate to be President.
The Impact
The “Don’t Say Gay/LGBTQ” policies have already caused harm to children. Expanding them will cause more. As I’ve said before, there’s a fine and blurry line between banning books and lessons about a category of people and banning those people themselves.
The state’s harsh anti-LGBTQ legislation goes beyond schools, too. Florida’s Pride Alliance of the Treasure Coast has just announced that this weekend’s Pridefest will be a 21 and older event, and that its Pride parade will be cancelled, since the governor is imminently expected to sign legislation banning children from attending drag shows. Let’s review: Drag shows for kids are for kids, and far different from adult-only drag shows. Drag artists know the difference. These children’s books show the difference. Not to mention that kids will probably see more that appeals to a “prurient interest,” as the bill phrases it, by watching NFL cheerleaders or the gyrations of many pop stars (most of whom are not LGBTQ). But they’re not being banned.
Last week, Equality Florida took the extraordinary step of issuing a travel advisory for the state, warning of “the risks posed to the health, safety, and freedom of those considering short or long term travel, or relocation to the state.”
Florida is not the only state to see such legislation introduced. A variety of other educational censorship bills are being put forward in many states, as PEN America recently reported, and other types of anti-LGBTQ bills have been proposed in record numbers.
The Action
Equality Florida, HRC, and other advocates are hard at work in Florida, organizing advocates and launching advertising campaigns. And Florida high school and college students from Walkout2Learn are organizing a walkout on Friday, April 21.
We can fight these bills, but it’s going to take work. Follow Equality Florida for updates and action steps in the (not-as-much)-Sunshine State, and visit the ACLU’s tracker for the status of anti-LGBTQ bills across the country.