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Florida’s Board of Education approved an expansion of the state’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, which will bar teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender for all public school students. The decision came at the request of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who filed an administrative proposal for the changes last month.
The new rule adds to the existing Parental Rights in Education law, enacted in March 2022, that bans public schools from teaching about gender or sexual orientation from kindergarten through the third grade. The law bars discussing these topics in a way that is not “age” or “developmentally” appropriate. The new rule extends the provision of the law for students through 12th grade.
Advocates have said these types of measures ensure that parents have control over what their students learn in school. “There is no doubt that one family is completely different from another family,” Christian Ziegler, chairman of the Florida GOP, previously told TIME. “But the most appropriate way to handle this is to allow parents and families to introduce these concepts and have these discussions with their family when they think it’s appropriate.”
Critics say the law erases LGBTQ+ from discussions and censors Floridians. They are also concerned that the laws will harm the estimated 114,000 queer youth in the state, according to the 2020 count administered by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.
“The decision by the Florida Board of Education to extend curriculum bans through twelfth grade is disgraceful — and it will result in catastrophic consequences for Florida students and supportive educators,” wrote Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, executive director of Gay, Lesbian ,and Straight Education Network, a nonprofit founded by educators to create affirming spaces for queer youth, in…
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