Ron DeSantis signs extension of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law to ALL public school grades: Florida Senate passes bill that would restrict sexuality and gender identity classes in all public classrooms
- The Florida legislature has passed an expanded version of the so-called “don’t say gay” law
- Include restrictions on classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for all public school levels instead of just K-3rd
- The bill now goes to the office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for signature
Ron DeSantis scored another huge victory for his conservative agenda on Wednesday when Florida’s Republican supermajority passed an expansion of his so-called “don’t say gay” law to cover all public school students from kindergarten through 8th grade.
The recently expanded parental rights in education bill was sent to DeSantis’ desk for signature Wednesday afternoon after passing the legislature by a vote of 27 to 21.
It follows the Florida State Board of Education’s vote last month to ban the subject of sexual orientation and sexual identity in all public schools for all grades through high school graduation.
The Florida governor is expected to run for president in the coming weeks and has made education and the fight against left-wing “woke-ism” a cornerstone of his agenda.
DeSantis’ education-related law was originally passed last year and limited instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Kindergarten through 3rd grades. But DeSantis and other hardline Republicans in the Florida legislature said the law didn’t go far enough.
The Florida legislature on Wednesday passed an expanded version of the so-called “don’t say gay” law, which places restrictions on classroom discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation for all public school levels. The bill now goes to the office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for signature
Critics have called the bill the “don’t say gay” bill, claiming it could hurt gay and transgender students by keeping discussions banned in public school classrooms.
In addition, the new law also makes it easier for parents to ensure that books they deem inappropriate are removed from their children’s bookshelves.
Anyone can challenge a book for any reason in their province. Once a challenge is imposed, the book in question must be removed from the shelves during the review process, which can take weeks or months.
Not only does the new law expand the current scope of the ban from covering third graders to include high school students, it also prevents teachers from addressing students with pronouns that don’t match the gender they were born into.
While there is more flexibility with high school students, teachers and instructors for these grades are limited to only discussing these topics in a way that is “age or developmentally appropriate” for their students.
This bill promotes parental rights, transparency and state standards in Florida schools. It requires classes for Florida students to be age-appropriate, education-focused, and free from sexualization and indoctrination,” Florida Republican Representative Adam Anderson previously said of the impending law.
The original version of the Parental Rights in Education Act signed into law last March led to DeSantis’ war with the Walt Disney Co. after the then CEO spoke out against the measure.
Since then, DeSantis has taken several steps to strip what he calls the “corporate kingdom” of the special privileges and tax exemptions it received with the development of the Reedy Creek Improvement District in 1967.
Critics call parental rights in education the ‘don’t say gay’ law, claiming it will harm gay and transgender youth in Florida