Occupy Democrats writer David Weissman falsely claimed Republicans had "banned the word gay in the state of Florida." Florida state Rep. Some of the bill's critics took its nickname literally. In his State of the Union speech, President Biden told "younger transgender Americans" he would "always have your back … so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential." Harding said the bill is "designed to keep school districts from talking about these topics before kids are ready to process them."ĭetractors meanwhile emphasize the phrase "in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate," arguing that such imprecise language could lead to lawsuits from parents who believe any discussion of LGBT identities is inappropriate at any grade level.Īmit Paley, CEO of the LGBT suicide prevention group The Trevor Project, wrote at CNN that the bill "would effectively erase entire chapters of history, literature, and critical health information" and "silence LGBTQ students and those with LGBTQ parents or family members." He added that, according to his organization's research, "LGBTQ students who learned about LGBTQ issues or people in classes at school were 23 percent less likely to attempt suicide in the past year."
"Ask any non-deranged parent if they want their six-year-old to talk about their sexuality with their teacher and they'll look at you like you're crazy," Alex Perez wrote at The Spectator World. Proponents of the bill tend to focus on the part of the bill that bans instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity "in kindergarten through grade 3."
This time, it attracted national and international attention, and critics quickly coined the phrase "Don't Say Gay" to describe it.Īfter several years in legislative limbo, Campfield's bill passed the state Senate in 2015 but never became law. In 2011, Campfield - by then a state Senator - re-introduced the legislation, which also included language that could be interpreted as requiring educators to "out" gay students to their parents. Stacey Campfield (R) introduced a bill prohibiting "the teaching of or furnishing of materials on human sexuality other than heterosexuality in public school grades K-8." The bill failed relatively quietly. Texas has a pair of 1991 statutes on the books requiring all sex-ed programs to teach that "homosexual conduct is not an acceptable lifestyle and is a criminal offense." Anti-sodomy laws in the state were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2003. Laws placing some level of restriction on discussing LGBT issues in the context of sexual education have been repealed, overturned, or rendered obsolete in several states. The legislation does, however, include a carve-out that allows schools to "withhold such information from parents" when there is a risk of "abuse, abandonment, or neglect." So, for example, a transgender student who wears girls' clothes and uses a feminine name at school but lives as a boy at home because of parental threats would not have to be "outed."Īn amendment Harding introduced in February would have required schools to "develop a plan … to disclose such information within 6 weeks" even if "a reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect," but Harding withdrew the amendment a few days later. The final text of the bill requires schools to notify parents "if there is a change in the student's services or monitoring related to the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being." A student coming out as transgender or non-binary would require changes to the student's "services and monitoring" - such as altering the student's sex in school records or stipulating the use of different pronouns in the classroom - and could therefore fall under this definition. Will schools be forced to "out" LGBT students? Notably, the "Don't Say Gay" nickname was created and spread by activist opponents to the bill. The bill does not seek to prohibit the use of the word "gay" in schools, supporters note. The bill also empowers parents to sue schools and teachers that violate this ban, enhancing the ability of Florida's parents to object to their children's curricula. "But vague legislation can have massive consequences."
"If that language seems vague, it is," writes CNN. Joe Harding (R), stipulates that "lassroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate." The text of the bill, which was filed on Jan. The legislation, more officially titled the "Parental Rights in Education" bill, seeks to restrict the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity with public school children, especially from kindergarten to the third grade.