Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis "has damaged our state's reputation as a welcoming and inclusive place for all families," said one rights advocate. "Worse, he has made schools less safe for children."
Anasofia Pelaez and Kimberly Blandon protest after the passage of the Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics on March 9, 2022 in Miami, Florida.
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Anasofia Pelaez and Kimberly Blandon protest after the passage of the Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics on March 9, 2022 in Miami, Florida.
(Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
JULIA CONLEY
JULIA CONLEY
COMMON DREAMS
March 28, 2022
Rights advocates on Monday said they will continue to fight against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' attacks on LGBTQ+ families after the Republican governor signed the so-called Parental Rights in Education bill that's come to be known as the state's "Don't Say Gay" proposal.
After DeSantis signed the bill Monday, standing at a podium with a sign reading, "Protect Children," the law will go into effect July 1.
Equality Florida noted that DeSantis chose to hold the bill signing—where he claimed that public school libraries contain "clearly inappropriate, pornographic, mature materials"—at a charter school that will be exempt from the law, in what the group said was an attempt to escape "students who would protest his presence."
"DeSantis has damaged our state's reputation as a welcoming and inclusive place for all families, he has made us a laughing stock and target of national derision. Worse, he has made schools less safe for children," said Nadine Smith, executive director of the group. "Equality Florida will defend the rights of all students to have a healthy environment to learn and thrive and for all parents to know their families are included and respected. This law will not stand. We will work to see it removed either by the courts as unconstitutional or repealed by the legislature."
Under the Parental Rights in Education Law, public school educators will be prohibited from leading classroom discussions or teaching lessons that pertain to gender identity and sexual orientation—at least if they relate to the LGBTQ+ community.
"Instead of dealing with soaring housing costs or helping people get back on their feet after the pandemic, Florida's GOP is attacking first graders, censoring teachers, and denying the existence of millions of Floridians."
The law applies to classroom instruction in kindergarten through third grade as well as lessons given "in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards"—amounting to what Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern said is "intentionally vague language to outlaw a huge amount of speech about LGBTQ people, families, and issues—not just sex—in every grade."
The law also employs a vigilante enforcement scheme, similar to those used in the latest forced-pregnancy bills proposed in several Republican states. Parents will be empowered to sue a school district if they claim a teacher has violated the law, with the potential to win tens of thousands of dollars in court.
"Even if no parent ever sues under H.B. 1557, the threat of enforcement will hang over school districts," wrote Stern.
Because of DeSantis and the Republican state lawmakers who pushed the proposal, said the ACLU of Florida, "teachers and students will be silenced from speaking and learning about LGBTQ+ siblings, family members, friends, neighbors, and icons."
"This law is unconstitutional and dangerous," said Amy Turkel, interim executive director of the group. "Students have a First Amendment right to receive information at school, free of political or partisan censorship. Banning talk about parents serves no legitimate educational purpose and in fact, is detrimental to students. Targeting LGBTQ+ youth and families is discriminatory, cruel, and an impediment to students' and teachers' rights to equal protection under the law. All young people deserve an inclusive and accurate education, free from censorship or discrimination."
Smith and other advocates have expressed concern that young people from LGBTQ+ families will feel unable to talk about their households at school, while children whose family members are heterosexual and cisgender will doubtlessly be exempt from the law's ban on discussions about "sexual orientation or gender identity."
"If a child has two moms and the teacher says 'Yeah, we're not going to talk about that, that's a conversation you need to have with your parents,' everything changes," Smith told The 19th Monday. "The message every child who hears that is, 'There's something wrong with my family here. Something sinister. I can't even talk to my teacher.'"
DeSantis has claimed the law is necessary to stop LGBTQ+ educators from "grooming" children, or building relationships with them and targeting them for abuse. His press secretary, Christina Pushaw, said earlier this month that an opponent of the law is "probably a groomer or at least you don't denounce the grooming of four-to-eight year old children."
"There's a long history of invoking the ugly stereotype," Smith told The 19th. "In the 1970s and 1980s, it led to the passage of laws in Florida banning gay people from adopting their own children, children they were already raising... We can't take it lightly when the governor's office implies we're pedophiles."
The law is likely to have "a chilling effect on speech, frightening educators into silence," wrote Stern at Slate. "A parent can ruin teachers' lives by filing a complaint or a lawsuit; even if a teacher is ultimately exonerated, they will have suffered through an intrusive investigation and faced accusation of misconduct—or 'grooming'—that will never fade away completely."
DeSantis' decision to sign the Parental Rights in Education law, also known as H.B. 1557, demonstrates that the governor and possible 2024 presidential candidate "is unfit to lead in Florida or anywhere," said grassroots organization Florida Rising.
"You can't govern on behalf of people whose existence you deny," said executive director Andrea Cristina Mercado. "Instead of dealing with soaring housing costs or helping people get back on their feet after the pandemic, Florida's GOP is attacking first graders, censoring teachers, and denying the existence of millions of Floridians."
Rights advocates on Monday said they will continue to fight against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' attacks on LGBTQ+ families after the Republican governor signed the so-called Parental Rights in Education bill that's come to be known as the state's "Don't Say Gay" proposal.
After DeSantis signed the bill Monday, standing at a podium with a sign reading, "Protect Children," the law will go into effect July 1.
Equality Florida noted that DeSantis chose to hold the bill signing—where he claimed that public school libraries contain "clearly inappropriate, pornographic, mature materials"—at a charter school that will be exempt from the law, in what the group said was an attempt to escape "students who would protest his presence."
"DeSantis has damaged our state's reputation as a welcoming and inclusive place for all families, he has made us a laughing stock and target of national derision. Worse, he has made schools less safe for children," said Nadine Smith, executive director of the group. "Equality Florida will defend the rights of all students to have a healthy environment to learn and thrive and for all parents to know their families are included and respected. This law will not stand. We will work to see it removed either by the courts as unconstitutional or repealed by the legislature."
Under the Parental Rights in Education Law, public school educators will be prohibited from leading classroom discussions or teaching lessons that pertain to gender identity and sexual orientation—at least if they relate to the LGBTQ+ community.
"Instead of dealing with soaring housing costs or helping people get back on their feet after the pandemic, Florida's GOP is attacking first graders, censoring teachers, and denying the existence of millions of Floridians."
The law applies to classroom instruction in kindergarten through third grade as well as lessons given "in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards"—amounting to what Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern said is "intentionally vague language to outlaw a huge amount of speech about LGBTQ people, families, and issues—not just sex—in every grade."
The law also employs a vigilante enforcement scheme, similar to those used in the latest forced-pregnancy bills proposed in several Republican states. Parents will be empowered to sue a school district if they claim a teacher has violated the law, with the potential to win tens of thousands of dollars in court.
"Even if no parent ever sues under H.B. 1557, the threat of enforcement will hang over school districts," wrote Stern.
Because of DeSantis and the Republican state lawmakers who pushed the proposal, said the ACLU of Florida, "teachers and students will be silenced from speaking and learning about LGBTQ+ siblings, family members, friends, neighbors, and icons."
"This law is unconstitutional and dangerous," said Amy Turkel, interim executive director of the group. "Students have a First Amendment right to receive information at school, free of political or partisan censorship. Banning talk about parents serves no legitimate educational purpose and in fact, is detrimental to students. Targeting LGBTQ+ youth and families is discriminatory, cruel, and an impediment to students' and teachers' rights to equal protection under the law. All young people deserve an inclusive and accurate education, free from censorship or discrimination."
Smith and other advocates have expressed concern that young people from LGBTQ+ families will feel unable to talk about their households at school, while children whose family members are heterosexual and cisgender will doubtlessly be exempt from the law's ban on discussions about "sexual orientation or gender identity."
"If a child has two moms and the teacher says 'Yeah, we're not going to talk about that, that's a conversation you need to have with your parents,' everything changes," Smith told The 19th Monday. "The message every child who hears that is, 'There's something wrong with my family here. Something sinister. I can't even talk to my teacher.'"
DeSantis has claimed the law is necessary to stop LGBTQ+ educators from "grooming" children, or building relationships with them and targeting them for abuse. His press secretary, Christina Pushaw, said earlier this month that an opponent of the law is "probably a groomer or at least you don't denounce the grooming of four-to-eight year old children."
"There's a long history of invoking the ugly stereotype," Smith told The 19th. "In the 1970s and 1980s, it led to the passage of laws in Florida banning gay people from adopting their own children, children they were already raising... We can't take it lightly when the governor's office implies we're pedophiles."
The law is likely to have "a chilling effect on speech, frightening educators into silence," wrote Stern at Slate. "A parent can ruin teachers' lives by filing a complaint or a lawsuit; even if a teacher is ultimately exonerated, they will have suffered through an intrusive investigation and faced accusation of misconduct—or 'grooming'—that will never fade away completely."
DeSantis' decision to sign the Parental Rights in Education law, also known as H.B. 1557, demonstrates that the governor and possible 2024 presidential candidate "is unfit to lead in Florida or anywhere," said grassroots organization Florida Rising.
"You can't govern on behalf of people whose existence you deny," said executive director Andrea Cristina Mercado. "Instead of dealing with soaring housing costs or helping people get back on their feet after the pandemic, Florida's GOP is attacking first graders, censoring teachers, and denying the existence of millions of Floridians."
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
‘Grooming’: The ubiquitous buzzword in LGBTQ school debate
IN FLORDIA, RUSSIA, POLAND & HUNGARY
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and KARENA PHAN
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shows an image from the children's book Call Me Max by transgender author Kyle Lukoff moments before signing the Parental Rights in Education bill during a news conference on Monday, March 28, 2022, at Classical Preparatory school in Shady Hills. At left is an image of The Genderbread Person, a teaching tool used for breaking the concept of gender.
(Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Proponents of restrictions on how U.S. public schools address sexual orientation and gender identity say their ultimate goal is to allow parents more involvement in their children’s education and ensure classroom materials are age-appropriate.
But in heated debates at school board meetings and in statehouses across the country, the argument they repeatedly put forth is that they are trying to prevent children from being “groomed” — the same term commonly used to describe how sex offenders initiate contact with their victims.
The use of such rhetoric, opponents of the new laws argue, underscores a nationwide push by conservatives to make education a political wedge issue by equating certain teaching materials and educators with pornography and even pedophilia. This latest trend is another volley in the country’s ongoing culture wars, during which conservative lawmakers also have opposed the teaching of “critical race theory” and proposed bills requiring schools to post all course materials online so parents can review them.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an ascending Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, has been at the forefront of the movement. On Monday, DeSantis signed a bill into law that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. While doing so, he railed against “liberal politicians” and activists who fought against the law, saying, “They support sexualizing kids in kindergarten.”
“They support injecting woke gender ideology into 2nd grade classrooms,” he added. “They support enabling schools to ‘transition students’ to a ‘different gender’ without the knowledge of the parent ... without the parent’s consent.”
DeSantis never uttered the word “groom,” but his press secretary, Christina Pushaw, remarked on Twitter that the legislation dubbed by opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill would be more accurately described as an “Anti-Grooming Bill.”
The use of the term is an attempt to distort the goal of teachers “who are being intentional about expressing their acceptance of LGBTQ people, or perhaps sharing their own stories ... so that all students can know that they have representation within the school,” said Casey Pick, a senior fellow for advocacy and government affairs at the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provides support services for LGBTQ youth.
Asked why she used it, Pushaw replied in an email to The Associated Press, “I have never stated that all groomers are LGBT, all LGBT people are groomers, or anything of that nature.” She did not elaborate.
In Tennessee, country music singer John Rich testified in front of lawmakers that school librarians who defend controversial books about gender identity and featuring LGBTQ characters “groom” children to become desensitized to sexual abuse and pornography.
“What’s the difference between a teacher, a librarian putting one of these books on the desk of a student, or a guy in a white van pulling up when school lets out, saying, ‘Come around kids, let me read you this book?’” Rich asked last month. “What’s the difference between those two scenarios? There is a difference. They can run away from the van.”
An Oklahoma school choice advocacy blog, Choice Remarks, shared an article on its Facebook page alleging that public schools are sexualizing children. “Groomers are gonna groom,” the group declared in comments accompanying the article. “The solution is educational choice.”
When the New York State Education Department tweeted a book recommendation of Maia Kobabe’s graphic novel “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” the agency was attacked online as providing “pornographic” material to children, as well as “grooming” and “preying” on them. The agency later deleted the tweet.
DeSantis and other conservative politicians and parents who have criticized schools’ use of books with sexually explicit material argue that parents, not teachers, should be broaching such subjects with their children.
The main point of the Florida law is that it “empowers parents to be engaged in their children’s lives,” said Republican Rep. Joe Harding, who sponsored the legislation. At Monday’s signing ceremony, a placard affixed to the speakers’ podium and signs held up by young children featured the slogan “Protect Children/Support Parents.”
But Catherine Oakley, state legislative director and senior counsel at Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., said conservative groups are capitalizing on the fear of unknown materials, books and discussion taking place inside classrooms to propel measures that would place more “surveillance” on teachers, librarians and other educators.
These groups “are really coming from this idea that sexual orientation (and) gender identity is something that’s being imposed upon kids,” Oakley said. “It comes from just a really fundamentally wrong position about where a person’s LGBTQ identity comes from.”
The current trend to limit the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity echoes similar campaigns of the 1970s in which far-right religious groups characterized people who identified as LGBTQ as trying to “convert children,” said Sophie Bjork-James, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University who researches the U.S.-based religious right and the white nationalist movement. The accusation helped stall the expansion of civil rights for sexual minorities, Bjork-James said.
Brittany McBride, associate director of sexuality education at Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit that promotes adolescent sexual health and rights, sees a coordinated effort to create discomfort in school districts across the country, the result of which is to limit the education that students can receive.
“Adult discomfort has always seemed to take the priority over the rights and responsibility as a society to provide our young people with the information that they deserve,” McBride said.
Proponents of restrictions on how U.S. public schools address sexual orientation and gender identity say their ultimate goal is to allow parents more involvement in their children’s education and ensure classroom materials are age-appropriate.
But in heated debates at school board meetings and in statehouses across the country, the argument they repeatedly put forth is that they are trying to prevent children from being “groomed” — the same term commonly used to describe how sex offenders initiate contact with their victims.
The use of such rhetoric, opponents of the new laws argue, underscores a nationwide push by conservatives to make education a political wedge issue by equating certain teaching materials and educators with pornography and even pedophilia. This latest trend is another volley in the country’s ongoing culture wars, during which conservative lawmakers also have opposed the teaching of “critical race theory” and proposed bills requiring schools to post all course materials online so parents can review them.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an ascending Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, has been at the forefront of the movement. On Monday, DeSantis signed a bill into law that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. While doing so, he railed against “liberal politicians” and activists who fought against the law, saying, “They support sexualizing kids in kindergarten.”
“They support injecting woke gender ideology into 2nd grade classrooms,” he added. “They support enabling schools to ‘transition students’ to a ‘different gender’ without the knowledge of the parent ... without the parent’s consent.”
DeSantis never uttered the word “groom,” but his press secretary, Christina Pushaw, remarked on Twitter that the legislation dubbed by opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill would be more accurately described as an “Anti-Grooming Bill.”
The use of the term is an attempt to distort the goal of teachers “who are being intentional about expressing their acceptance of LGBTQ people, or perhaps sharing their own stories ... so that all students can know that they have representation within the school,” said Casey Pick, a senior fellow for advocacy and government affairs at the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provides support services for LGBTQ youth.
Asked why she used it, Pushaw replied in an email to The Associated Press, “I have never stated that all groomers are LGBT, all LGBT people are groomers, or anything of that nature.” She did not elaborate.
In Tennessee, country music singer John Rich testified in front of lawmakers that school librarians who defend controversial books about gender identity and featuring LGBTQ characters “groom” children to become desensitized to sexual abuse and pornography.
“What’s the difference between a teacher, a librarian putting one of these books on the desk of a student, or a guy in a white van pulling up when school lets out, saying, ‘Come around kids, let me read you this book?’” Rich asked last month. “What’s the difference between those two scenarios? There is a difference. They can run away from the van.”
An Oklahoma school choice advocacy blog, Choice Remarks, shared an article on its Facebook page alleging that public schools are sexualizing children. “Groomers are gonna groom,” the group declared in comments accompanying the article. “The solution is educational choice.”
When the New York State Education Department tweeted a book recommendation of Maia Kobabe’s graphic novel “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” the agency was attacked online as providing “pornographic” material to children, as well as “grooming” and “preying” on them. The agency later deleted the tweet.
DeSantis and other conservative politicians and parents who have criticized schools’ use of books with sexually explicit material argue that parents, not teachers, should be broaching such subjects with their children.
The main point of the Florida law is that it “empowers parents to be engaged in their children’s lives,” said Republican Rep. Joe Harding, who sponsored the legislation. At Monday’s signing ceremony, a placard affixed to the speakers’ podium and signs held up by young children featured the slogan “Protect Children/Support Parents.”
But Catherine Oakley, state legislative director and senior counsel at Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., said conservative groups are capitalizing on the fear of unknown materials, books and discussion taking place inside classrooms to propel measures that would place more “surveillance” on teachers, librarians and other educators.
These groups “are really coming from this idea that sexual orientation (and) gender identity is something that’s being imposed upon kids,” Oakley said. “It comes from just a really fundamentally wrong position about where a person’s LGBTQ identity comes from.”
The current trend to limit the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity echoes similar campaigns of the 1970s in which far-right religious groups characterized people who identified as LGBTQ as trying to “convert children,” said Sophie Bjork-James, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University who researches the U.S.-based religious right and the white nationalist movement. The accusation helped stall the expansion of civil rights for sexual minorities, Bjork-James said.
Brittany McBride, associate director of sexuality education at Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit that promotes adolescent sexual health and rights, sees a coordinated effort to create discomfort in school districts across the country, the result of which is to limit the education that students can receive.
“Adult discomfort has always seemed to take the priority over the rights and responsibility as a society to provide our young people with the information that they deserve,” McBride said.
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