But then Smith read something that took his breath away. The measure, officially titled the Parental Education Bill, would, to some extent, prohibit “class discussion on sexual orientation or gender identity.” Smith, who in 2016 became the state’s first openly gay lawmaker, said he was not exactly surprised the bill was introduced. It was just one of a number of bills that had been proposed before the legislature met on January 11 and which in some way targeted the LGBTQ + community. But he was worried. In April, a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that Florida suicide rates had risen faster than much of the nation between 2019 and mid-2021. In its own report, health officials Florida has recognized that the state’s young LGBTQ + people face increased rates of mental health challenges and suicidal ideation. Our country is in a historic fight against the coronavirus. Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. Smith says these events have been largely ignored by conservative lawmakers in Florida, who make up the majority of both the House and Senate. They also have control of the governor’s office. “There is no acknowledgment from Republicans in Tallahassee or Governor DeSantis that LGBTQ students are vulnerable and at risk,” Smith told Changing America in an interview. Ever since the bill was introduced, its potential impact on the mental health and well-being of young LGBTQ + residents in Florida has been a major concern for opponents of the measure. Concerns about whether the bill – dubbed “Do Not Say Homosexual” by its critics – violate the First Amendment rights of public school teachers and students have also spread. The measure, which was signed into law in March by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSadis, prohibits elementary school teachers from teaching sex-oriented or gender-related classes. The law officially enters into force on Friday. Public school teachers up to high school are legally unable to deal with any issues in a way that is not “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” for their students. In House and Senate hearings through early March, Republican lawmakers who supported the measure avoided questioning what would mean “classroom instruction,” leaving it to the interpretation of school districts. The Florida Department of Education will have until next summer to develop new rules that set out this and other parts of the law, such as age-appropriate and developmental guidelines. The department did not respond to numerous requests for comment. Smith said he believes the measure is deliberately broad enough to reassure public school teachers who fear they may inadvertently break the law. In the event of this happening, parents can choose to take legal action against school districts, such as their right under the measure. “When we talk about the culture of fear that this bill has created and the creepy result, we are talking about the fact that teachers and school districts are afraid to approach anything related to LGBTQ people or issues for fear of lawsuits and professional disaster. Said Smith. “The real enforcement mechanism of this law is not oversight by the state education ministry,” he said. “It is a legal dispute.” Reports have already surfaced detailing efforts by Florida school districts to prevent possible lawsuits – through which parents may be awarded compensation – by developing new policies that limit the ways in which LGBTQ + issues and identities can be discussed in the classroom. Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association (FEA), told Changing America that this is not a sign of increased hatred against LGBTQ + in schools – it is a sign that teachers and other school staff are afraid of losing their jobs. “That’s why we can see some regions overreacting by being very careful and just banning any discussion,” he said of LGBTQ + issues. Sparr said several teachers have already approached the FEA about a series of trainings that have taken place in some school districts. During the training, the teachers said, they were instructed to remove LGBTQ + Pride flags, stickers for safe space and same-sex photos from their classrooms before Friday. From the beginning, Spar said, the vast majority of Florida teachers opposed the new law, largely because they believed it would prevent them from protecting their students from anti-LGBTQ + rhetoric and help perpetuate harmful stereotypes about LGBTQ + people. . Teachers have also argued that legislation solves a problem that does not exist in Florida. Issues related to sex education (which some state lawmakers have identified with sexual orientation and gender identity) are not taught in grades K-3, according to Sunshine State standards. Currently, sex education in Florida does not begin until the fifth grade, Spar said, when health educators are asked to teach a lesson about the physical changes that students may experience as a teenager. Courses related to sexual orientation or gender identity are not part of the curriculum, he said. But Conservative lawmakers have argued otherwise, arguing that both issues are being promoted in inappropriate ways for children in the classroom across the state. In an email comment to Changing America, the bill’s sponsor, MP Joe Harding (R), said the measure had successfully prevented “far-left school districts from trying to sexualize our children”. “Florida is no longer just the freest state in the country, it is now the most philological state,” he said. In March, Harding said in a televised interview with the ABC WPLG in Miami that he had introduced the bill because he had been notified of numerous instances where kindergarten teachers were teaching “gender theory and gender identity”. “The reason the bill exists is because we have specific examples where this kind of teaching has taken place in Florida schools,” he said at the time. Harding added that the primary purpose of legislation is – and always has been – to empower parents and give them a greater say in their children’s education. He said Democrats who call the bill “Do not say homosexuals” lie to children and use them as “political pawns” to advance an agenda. LGBTQ + advocacy groups, meanwhile, have accused Harding and other Florida Republicans of doing the same. “The country is tired of seeing you use our children’s lives for personal political power,” Joni Madison, the interim president of the Campaign for Human Rights, said Thursday in a statement to conservative politicians in Florida and elsewhere. states where they have similar measures. was introduced. “We always understood what we were facing in the state of Florida,” Brandon Wolf, spokesman for Equality Florida, told Changing America. “We know these legislators, we know the turn to the right that happened under Governor Ron de Sandis.” Equality Florida is one of several groups suing the DeSantis government over the new law, which it described as “grossly unconstitutional” in a complaint filed in March. The law is also personal to Wolf, a queer man who survived the Pulse Nightclub shootings in Orlando in 2016. His two best friends, Drew and Juan, were among the 49 people killed that night. Wolf worries that measures like this will spark division and exacerbate violence against LGBTQ +, which has increased nationwide in recent years. “It feels very unfortunate that in a state that has seen the deadliest attack on LGBTQ people in the history of this nation, we are talking about erasing our history, our lives, our experiences from the classrooms,” he said. Wolf said he recently felt a renewed vigilance about his personal safety – a vigilance he has not felt since the days immediately following the Pulse attack. Published on July 1, 2022
