By Hannah Schaffer, Features Editor
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com
2021 was a record-breaking year for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, with more than 250 bills being introduced across several states.[1]
On Tuesday, February 8, Florida’s Senate Education Committee approved the Parental Rights in Education bill.[2]The bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, seeks to limit discussions of sexuality and gender identity in school classrooms and allows students’ parents to take legal action against their child’s school if they engage in such conversations.[3]
The bill states that a school district “may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”[4]However, the bill fails to define the terms “age appropriate” and “developmentally appropriate.”[5]
According to Representative Joe Harding, the bill will not stop conversations about gender identity and sexual orientation but will instead “reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding upbringing and control of their children.”[6]
Governor Ron DeSantis refers to the bill as “transparency legislation.”[7] “We’ve seen instances of students being told by different folks in school, ‘Oh, well, don’t worry, don’t pick your gender yet do all this other stuff.’ They won’t tell the parents about these discussions that are happening. That is entirely inappropriate,” DeSantis said.[8] “We want parents to be able to have access to what’s going on in the classroom. And certainly, it is inappropriate to be hiding these things from parents.”[9]
Many LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and mental health experts have spoken out against the legislation, scared of the damaging effects silencing these conversations could have on children. LGBTQ+ activists fear that the bill will act as a complete ban on lessons of LGBTQ+ oppression and history, as well as prevent teachers from being a lifeline for students.
“This would erase LGBTQ+ history and culture from lesson plans and it sends a chilling message to LGBTQ+ young people and communities,” said Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, the executive director of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN).[10]
GLSEN is “an American education organization working to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression and to prompt LGBT cultural inclusion and awareness in K-12 schools.”[11] According to GLSEN, 70 percent of LGBTQ+ youth admitted to being harassed at school for being LGBTQ+.[12]
“DeSantis tries to paint this picture that every family is this 1950s mom and dad with two kids and a cat and dog. That is not what Florida looks like; that is not what the country looks like,” said Jennifer Soloman, a Florida mother who has LGBTQ children.[13]
While this proposed Florida legislation has been prominent in the news lately, the concept is not entirely new. According to GLSEN, Texas Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mississippi have all adopted statutes comparable to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill.[14] Additionally, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Montana passed legislation that allows parents to opt their children out of any lessons that discuss sexual orientation or gender identity.[15]
[1] https://abcnews.go.com/US/dont-gay-bill-moves-forward-florida/story?id=82481565
[2] https://www.fox13news.com/news/controversial-dont-say-gay-bill-gets-approval-from-floridas-senate-education-committee
[3] https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/07/politics/ron-desantis-florida-classrooms-sexual-orientation-gender-identity/index.html
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] https://abcnews.go.com/US/dont-gay-bill-moves-forward-florida/story?id=82481565
[7] https://cbs12.com/news/local/desantis-dont-say-gay-bill-florida-school-classroom-education-lgbt
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] https://abcnews.go.com/US/dont-gay-bill-moves-forward-florida/story?id=82481565
[11] https://www.glsen.org
[12] https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/florida-gov-ron-desantis-don-t-say-gay-bill-will-n1288662
[13] https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/florida-gov-ron-desantis-signals-support-dont-say-gay-bill-rcna15326
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
