Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration is moving to expand provisions of a current law that bans the discussion of LGBTQ issues in the state’s public schools.
The Parental Rights in Education Act — better known nationally as the “Don’t Say Gay” law — currently disallows classroom discussion on gender identity and sexual orientation in grades K-3. Such discussions are currently allowable in grades 4-12, so long as educators abide by the ambiguous standard of being “age-appropriate.”
A proposed amendment to the law, however, set to be considered by two state agencies, would expand the restrictions to apply to all grade levels.
Both the state Board of Education and the state Education Department, which are led by people who were appointed by DeSantis, are set to vote on changes to the law that would also ban discussion of LGBTQ topics in upper grade levels.
Schools “shall not intentionally provide classroom instruction to students in grades 4 through 12 on sexual orientation or gender identity unless such instruction is … expressly required by state academic standards,” one of the main parts of the amendment reads. Under that language, LGBTQ history or current events could not be discussed in the classroom, and LGBTQ students could be restricted from bringing up topics important to them or even from discussing possible harassment from their peers with teachers.
The proposed changes to the law by the state education agencies do not require legislative approval. A vote on the changes is set to occur next month.
In addition to DeSantis’s policies prohibiting the right of students and teachers to discuss LGBTQ topics, his administration has limited what educators can teach about Black history and racism in the U.S., for example. It is currently believed that DeSantis will soon announce a 2024 presidential run.
The DeSantis administration’s proposal to expand “Don’t Say Gay” in the state was widely condemned.
“It’s wrong, it’s completely, utterly wrong,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, adding that the proposal is “part of a disturbing and dangerous trend that we’re seeing across the nation” against LGBTQ people, especially youth.
LGBTQ groups in Florida also decried the proposed changes to the law.
“For a year, Don’t Say LGBTQ has wreaked havoc on our state,” Equality Florida said in a tweet. “Books banned. Safe Space stickers peeled from windows. Families debating whether Florida schools are safe for their children. Now, the governor is looking to escalate his assault.”
The organization added:
This has been the goal all along: sweeping censorship and book banning targeting LGBTQ people in service to his presidential ambitions. Now educators, in any grade level, and their livelihoods are being placed directly in the crosshairs for acknowledging that LGBTQ people exist.
Carlos Guillermo Smith, a former state legislator and current special projects manager for Equality Florida, denounced the proposal to further restrict LGBTQ discussions in schools.
“It was never, ever, ever, ever about kindergarten thru 3rd grade. It was always about demonizing us and censoring LGBTQ people out of existence in our schools,” he said.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment. We are presently looking for 253 new monthly donors in the next 3 days.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy