FLORIDA (Washington Insider Magazine) – A group of more than a dozen students, educators, parents, and activists sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Education department on Thursday, arguing that recently approved state legislation will “stigmatize, silence, and erase LGBTQ persons in Florida’s public schools.”
After months of intense discussion, the Republican governor approved the Parental Rights in Education law, nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents. The bill outlaws “gender identity or sexual orientation classroom instruction” in kindergarten through third grade, or in a way which is not age- or developmentally suitable. When the law takes effect on July 1, parents will be allowed to challenge school districts for restitution or attorney’s fees for suspected infractions.
The statute is being challenged in an 80-page lawsuit brought by National Center for Lesbian Rights and the legal firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The lawsuit, which includes LGBTQ activist groups Family Equality and Equality Florida as plaintiffs, claims that the new legislation undermines the First Amendment and other constitutional rights, and that it aims to “erase” LGBTQ persons from the state.
The governor’s director of communications, Taryn Fenske, described the case as a “political Hail-Mary” to weaken parental rights in Florida.
She also implied that the suit was backed by the Walt Disney Company, which has been at conflict with Florida’s governor over the LGBTQ education policy.
According to NBC NEWS, the new Florida legislation has sparked months of national controversy since its unveiling in January, with corporate leaders, Hollywood actors, and the White House all speaking out against it.
The measure’s supporters argue that it will offer parents greater control over what their kids learn in the classroom, thereby reaffirming their “parental authority.”
DeSantis, a Republican campaigning for re-election and generally seen as a possible presidential contender in 2024, said the measure will also guarantee that parents may send their children to school for an education rather than indoctrination.
The bill’s backers have stated repeatedly that it will not prevent kids from discussing their LGBTQ relatives or from discussing LGBTQ history in the classroom, including tragedies such as the 2016 assault on Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. Instead, they’ve stated the bill would prohibit the “instruction” of gender identity or sexual orientation, without giving specific instances during Senate and House discussion.
However, opponents and legal experts have pointed out that the “instruction” of gender identity or sexual orientation is still ambiguous. The bill’s text does not include a definition of such sort of instruction.
The complaint claims that the bill’s creators deliberated over whether or not to add descriptions for any of these phrases.
The plaintiffs include Brent and Dan VanTice, parents of 2 first-graders in Florida. Their children are already concerned that they will be unable to discuss their family at school, according to them.
On Thursday, US Secretary Of education Miguel Cardona spoke in private with LGBTQ kids and their families to discuss the law’s implications.
Cardona said earlier this week that the Education department will “monitor” the bill’s implementation and determine whether it violated federal civil rights legislation.
Legislators in a number of other states, including Tennessee, Georgia, Indiana, and Kansas, are considering legislation similar to Florida’s.