TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – Amid protests at the Capitol, the Florida Senate is expected to approve the controversial parental Rights in Education bill, known to its critics as the ‘Don’t Say Gay” bill on Monday. The bill is designed to limit school discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity.
Florida’s House has approved the bill and Governor Ron DeSantis supports it.
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Opponents argue the bill could remove teachers as a lifeline for vulnerable LGBTQ youth.
The bill would require that school districts “may not encourage” discussions related to sexual orientation and gender identity “in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”
The bill allows parents to sue school districts if they are not privy to situations related to their children or if their students are encouraged to have discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Sponsor Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, characterized the bill as clarifying the lines of teachers’ responsibilities in the classroom.
“Some discussions are for (having) with your parents. And I think when you start having sexual-type discussions with children, you’re entering a very dangerous zone. Your awareness should pop up right away, this isn’t teaching,” Baxley said.
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But John Harris Maurer, public policy director for LGBTQ-advocacy group Equality Florida, took exception to Baxley’s argument that such discussions would be inherently sexual in nature.
“It is patently offensive to say that school discussions, even with young children, referring to two moms or two dads, parents like those that are sitting in this room that are your constituents … is somehow dangerous or inappropriate,” Maurer said.
Sen. Shevrin Jones, a West Park Democrat who is gay, argued that the bill’s reference to “primary grade levels” could conflict with an assertion by Baxley that it would apply only to kindergarten through third-grade.
Baxley also argued that the measure would not affect private conversations between teachers and individual students but would only deal with “procedures” and “curriculum” in a classroom.
Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, argued the bill’s wording did not align with Baxley’s description of how it would be applied.
The bill is a continuation of Republicans’ push to increase parental involvement in issues related to education. Lawmakers last year passed a bill known as the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” which served in part as the basis for an executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis aimed at prohibiting mask mandates in schools.
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