They fear that this may change soon as HB 1557 (or what critics refer to as the “Don’t Say Gay”) bill,moves the Florida Senate for further discussion.
Todd Delmay stated that children who don’t feel accepted by their family or accepted for who they are, will experience a negative impact.” Manuel Bojorquez from CBS News interviewed Todd Delmay.
The Republican-backed Parental rights in Education bill says that teachers and third parties may not instruct students in classrooms about sexual orientation and gender identity. Schools could be sued by parents for violating this provision.
The bill was passed by the Florida House of Representatives on Thursday. The bill has been supported by Ron DeSantis, the Florida Governor.
The bill was sponsored by Joe Harding, a Republican State Representative. Bojorquez was informed by him that he wanted core education topics to be the main focus of classrooms.
“We want to put the emphasis on the basic, fundamental aspects. The math, writing, and reading. As a father of four children, there are many questions that kids ask when the topic comes up. There will be discussions. We can’t ban a conversation. We can’t ban a discussion. Harding stated that this is not what they are doing.
Critics say that the threat of lawsuits may be enough to stop discussions. Language in the bill prohibiting lessons “not appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in conformance with state standards,” could be applied to any grade.
“So, it applies for K-12 classrooms and gives parents the right to sue school districts if they believe that a conversation about their families is taking place. Joe Saunders, Senior Political Director at Equality Florida, said that it was an “aggressive attack”.
There are currently nine similar bills in nine states. The Trevor Project, an advocacy group, denounced them. It said that its research showed that LGBTQ students who were educated about LGBTQ issues and people at school had 23% less chances of reporting a suicide attempt within the last year.
Harding stated that the bill would not make schools less safe for LGBTQ students.
He said, “I believe the schools are safe places and they should continue to be safe places.” “This does not change the fact that a school is safe.”
Andrew Triolo, 17, said that even with the bill, not all schools were safe for him. He is transgender, and has been bullied at all the public schools he’s attended. He spoke out against the bill in the State Capitol recently and stated that schools can help students get through difficult times.
He said, “I believe that if it had been possible for me to express my feelings about my gender at an earlier age, it would have saved a lot internal struggle and depression.”
