Florida’s House of Representatives passed a bill which limits classroom discussion about a persons gender and sexual orientation. The bill is titled; the Parental Rights in Education bill but is known by critics as the “Don’t say gay” bill. This bill prohibits any type of conversation about sexuality or gender amongst those in kindergarten and third grade. Specifically, they cannot talk about sexuality in “a manner that is not age or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
This is a largely controversial bill and has many critics who disagree with the passing of this bill. There were different intentions behind passing this bill which included teaching children about boundaries at a young age. Along with this, they wanted to keep parents informed about what is going on in the classroom. However, critics of this bill say it will be life much harder for the LGBTQ youth. They believe it sends a terrible message to the youth saying that there is something extremely wrong about the topic of LGBTQ.
Seven members of the Republican Party voted against the bill. President Biden even had an opinion on the bill and strongly disagreed with it. Saying he will continue to fight for the protection and safety against this hateful bill. The bill went on to pass with a vote of 69-47. The republican who introduced the bill, Rep. Joe Harding says this bill is about empowering parents and allowing children to understand what is appropriate discussion to have in schools.
The biggest concern of this bill is that it allows parents who believe this rule was violated are able to sue. They can seek different reimbursement simply because of a discussion created by a five year old. If a parent believes there was an appropriate conversation brought up about gender that was not age appropriate, they can take further action. Overall, there seems to be endless issues and concerns that are brought up by critics.
This blog post is part of the CIMA law group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA law group specializes in Immigration law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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