The Florida Board of Education has expanded upon the state’s existing “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, banning on Wednesday the teaching of sexuality and gender identity in all Florida public schools.
Prior to today’s decision, public school teachers and districts were barred from discussing gender identity and sexuality in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms.
Under the new rule, Florida public schools educators cannot “intentionally” instruct students in grades K-12 on sexual orientation or gender identity, with the exception being “unless such instruction is either expressly required by state academic standards…or is part of a reproductive health course or health lesson for which a student’s parent has the option to have his or her student not attend,” CBS Miami reported.
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The original “Don’t Say Gay” expansion bills were proposed in March by the Republican administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who enacted the initial “Parental Rights in Education” law in the state over a year ago.
“Educators in Florida are expected to teach to the state academic standards. The topics of gender identity and sexual orientation have no place in the classroom, unless required by law,” Alex Lanfranconi, the director of communications at the Florida Department of Education, told CBS News. “Today’s State Board action reaffirms Florida’s commitment to uphold parental rights and keep indoctrination out of our schools.”
Criticism of the new law was quick, with the ACLU of Florida writing on Twitter, “It was never about schoolchildren. It is about erasure of LGBTQ+ people, their families, and their existence in Florida public schools.”
“The lust for government censorship is insatiable,” tweeted LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, Equality Florida. “Shame on the DeSantis Administration for putting a target on the backs of LGBTQ Floridians.”
Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a press release, “The Human Rights Campaign strongly condemns this form of dangerous, extremist politics. We will never stop fighting for LGBTQ+ Floridians, particularly transgender and non-binary children. They deserve better from their elected leaders, and they deserve to live full lives without fear.”
“Don’t Say Gay” legislation is also opposed by a plurality of Floridians surveyed with a 2022 study from the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida finding that 49% of respondents were against the passage of the original law.
It has also sparked an ongoing public feud between DeSantis and the Walt Disney Company, who opposed the passing of the “Parental Rights in Education” bill last year.
