Instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity will largely be prohibited in all public-school grades after the State Board of Education on Wednesday approved a controversial rule change.
The rule effectively expands Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, a hot-button measure that passed last year and was labeled by critics as the “don’t say gay” bill.
The law prohibited instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third-grade and required that such instruction be “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” in older grades.
But the rule requires that teachers shall not “intentionally provide” instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in fourth through 12th grades, unless such instruction is required by state academic standards or “is part of a reproductive health course or health lesson for which a student’s parent has the option to have his or her student not attend.”
The rule also extends the outright prohibition on such instruction to pre-kindergarten classrooms.
Teachers could face suspension or revocation of their educator certificates for violations of the rule.
Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. described the change to a rule about educator conduct as bringing clarity to what is expected of teachers.
“All we are doing is, we are setting the expectations so that our teachers are clear that they are to teach to the standards,” Diaz said before the board passed the rule.
But numerous critics, including representatives of LGBTQ-advocacy groups, packed a Capitol meeting room to oppose the proposal.
Joe Saunders, senior political director for Equality Florida and a former state lawmaker, criticized what he called “outrageous censorship” under the “vague” new rule.
“Like the Legislature, the board has provided no definitions for what ‘instruction’ on sexual orientation or gender identity means, even as you stretch the impact of this terrible policy into every classroom in the state. This rule is by design a tool for curating fear, anxiety and the erasure of our LGBTQ community,” Saunders said.
Other opponents of the rule argued it will harm vulnerable LGBTQ youths and would take power away from local school boards.
Diaz, speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s meeting, was asked about the definition of “instruction.”
“In the K-12 space, instruction is pretty clear. It has been deemed by courts that the state has complete authority, and that belongs to this board here, and we have standards. So, instruction has to coincide with standards,” Diaz said.
The new rule also drew opposition from the Human Rights Campaign, which hosted a news conference in Tallahassee to oppose the rule and what the organization called a “slate of hateful anti-LGBTQ+ bills” being considered by the Legislature.
Shari Gewanter, a first-grade teacher in Leon County, was among the people who spoke at the news conference.
“Educators hold a vital role in the relationships that unfold with our students and their families. And in all the years that I’ve been teaching, I’ve felt comfortable presenting myself as I am in my classroom. Until recently. There is now fear around that,” Gewanter said.
But Esther Byrd, a member of the state education board, echoed Diaz in saying the rule is an effort to provide more clear guidelines.
“I’ve heard a lot of complaints from parents around the state about our standards being overly broad and vague. The concern is that standards like that lead to an agenda being pushed on our impressionable young children. And we can’t let that continue. So what the board is doing today is the same thing we’ve done for the last four years — we’re providing clarity on what the students are expected to learn,” Byrd said.
Meanwhile, bills moving through the Legislature (HB 1069 and SB 1320) also seek to put into state law an expanded prohibition on instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity. The measures would broaden the prohibition in law to pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
–Ryan Dailey, News Service of Florida
richard says
This is a flawed bill, vague and intimidating, with a chilling effect on the teaching of students in our public schools. It is a classic wolf in sheep’s clothing. A flawed and vindictive governor, aided by a submissive and rubber stamping legislature and now implemented by Manny Diaz and his superintendant’s officials, has succeeded in taking Fraudula back to the stone age and one step closer to classical fascism. You “people” should be very proud of yourselves. You should also bear the bitter fruit of your labors in our next election, where the still-voting public will sweep you from office and wash us clean of your stain upon our democracy.
Losing Hope says
Ron DeSatan and his Yes people in the legislature are making a mockery of the state and its citizens. If you aren’t a white, heterosexual, Christian male, you can forget about your rights and your freedoms. That should concern every last person in this state, in this country.
Stop The Hate says
This includes heterosexuality too. Will it be equally enforced? Nope. Technically, no one can be called Mr. or Ms. or Mrs. or Miss because they both imply gender (male/female) and sexuality as Mr. is both the single and married prefix for a man but Mrs. is the married prefix for a woman. This also eliminates the use of he/she for anyone as it implies gender. This eliminates biology class because anatomy is discussed, which implies gender and also heavily implies sexuality, especially when discussing reproduction, which happens across all species.
All this will do is continue to make FL education not respected across the country. Who wants to accept students from FL schools who have been indoctrinated with hate, and misinformation about basic human existence, anatomy, and a severe lack of social skills. This will not end well for FL kids, who are the real victims here, as they continue to be because none of this protects kids. It does however, not inform them on who is a predator and how to protect yourself from harm (sexual assault, recognizing those that intend to harm you, preventing pregnancy because let’s face it abstinence is a joke and the only effective methods of birth control is a condom and the pill together, how to recognize a child predator, etc). This is what they are stopping by banning these discussions.
No one is telling kids to be gay. Kids are gay. Get over it. They don’t turn 18 and say, I’m gay. Most have known as long as heterosexuals know they’re straight. When was that for most of you? 8? 10? Same for LGBTQ kids. This is taking away spaces where they feel safe to be themselves. There will be an increase in suicides. And it’s not because they are upset about being LGBTQ. It’s because they feel they have no one in their corner. No support. They can’t be themselves. They feel lost because they have to be fake and lie about everything so they aren’t discovered. This is so wrong. I feel for these kids. I do. This is not right. How would any of you straight people like to be told you are born wrong, you’re vile, you’re an abomination, you’re disgusting, you’re sick, you’re a freak, or be threatened with death or corrective rape, because that’s the life for some of these LGBTQ kids. That was my life. This is my story and I don’t tell it, ever, not in this amount of detail. Too personal. But it needs to be said, now.
I had a gun held on me by my father when I was 14. He threatened to kill me if I told him I was gay. I was but I never told him. At that time, I never dated anyone. Told him I was too busy with my studies. Which wasn’t a complete fabrication. I was a straight-A student in advanced studies. I don’t know what he thought he saw because I was as femme as femme could be, and I never looked at anyone longer than second.
I found a boy, who was also gay and deeply hidden, and we started dating. It wasn’t something either of us wanted but we became each other’s beards. It kept both our families at bay, for a while. But then kids will be kids and they talk. No one ever saw us hold hands. We weren’t couple-y enough. The rumors started and they made it back to my parents and his. His parents were appalled and told him he should leave home. They made arrangements for him to move in with his Uncle in another state. Me? I was beaten and threatened with corrective rape, to make me straight. It wasn’t just family that suggested this but other boys at school. They would say it in passing in the hallway between classes.
One day, I became a victim. A statistic. An unreported statistic because of who it was and to this day, I’ve never told a single person who it was and I won’t. It was almost 30 years ago that it happened. After that, I attempted suicide five times. It wasn’t because I was sad I was gay, it was because not a single person around me saw anything in me except the possibility that I might be gay. They never helped me or supported me or thought I was worth anything. They only saw me, a single girl, not interested in dating boys, and hated me because of what it might mean.
They were the problem. It wasn’t me. I never told a single person I was gay until I was 22. Even then, it was just one person. Someone I hoped very much I could trust and I could. Even today, despite being in a relationship, I’m not open about who I am, or who I’m with, and again, it’s not because I’m ashamed of me, or us, it’s the fear I carry of having my life threatened by my father, and others and having someone else feel it was their duty, to sexually fix me, when being LGBTQ isn’t intrinsically about sex, just like being heterosexual isn’t intrinsically about sex, and I wasn’t broken.
When someone is allowed to talk about being LGBTQ, it’s about being free to love the person you want to love and hope they love you back. It’s about building a life together and having a family. It’s about having a home, food on the table, a car, someone to mow your lawn, a job, health care, being able to provide for your family, taking vacations, enjoying time together playing games or watching movies or going to concerts or out to dinner. It’s about having a retirement plan. It’s about existing in a space with someone that gets you and your whimsy. It’s about enjoying life with someone, however long or short that is, and just being happy.
What’s being taken away from these kids isn’t just books or words or conversations, it’s those few hours they have where they can maybe be themselves, before they return to a house that hates them just because of who they are and how they were made to love. These kids deserve better.
Benjamin says
Thank god. School is for reading, writing and arithmetic not indoctrination. If a child has a question about their sex they can talk to their parents or go see a psychologist. A teacher is not qualified to speak about gender ideology.
Been There says
and how do you deal with anatomy and biology classes that educate students about reproduction with discussing sex?
Deborah Coffey says
And, you actually believe this is taught in schools? You guys have been HAD by the far right wing! Conned to the limit! There is absolutely NO CRT, and no “grooming” going on in public schools. It never did and it never will. Get a grip, man! Get real facts.
Simon says
I don’t recognize my state anymore. I can understand not wanting schools to discuss sex when students are very young, but even after puberty? This is nuts! All I can do is what I have been doing…vote! In every election. This is the wrong direction for our democracy. I say this as a white, male, lifetime Republican. Though in recent years I am not sure I want people to know about the “Republican” part. DJT and his MAGA followers have soured me on the party.
Deborah Coffey says
Right. Ron DeSantis needs to put more hate into his campaign. I just have one question? Is Ron DeSantis gay…because there’s quite a long history of hypocritical Republicans hating gay-everything and then, turning out to BE gay! https://www.logotv.com/news/lpa6sk/19-republican-politicians-gay-sex
James says
Flagler School Board a long with DeathSantis are the most discriminating individuals and they are making complete fools of themselves nation wide. They feel they are entitled to tell children, parents and adults what they can an cannot do. It’s time they start minding their own business and take a lesson in compassion for all of man kind.
If they even go to church they need to ask for God’s forgiveness for treating their fellow citizens so badly.
Stop rubbing this in everyone faces and do the job you were given to do and mind your ow business what people do with their own lives.