Fla. OK's Sweeping Anti-LGBTQ+ Rules in Schools After 'Don't Say Gay'
The Florida Board of Education Wednesday adopted rules on restroom use and teacher licensing over the objections of many LGBTQ+ rights advocates.One rule requires public and charter schools to notify parents by mail and also post online if they allow students to use restrooms and changing rooms “according to some criteria other than biological sex at birth.”This is an “attempt to bully and intimidate districts” that accommodate transgender students, Joe Saunders, senior political director at Equality Florida, said in a press release.“The Board of Education’s facilities separation rule does not and cannot prevent transgender students from accessing facilities aligned with their gender identity — we know federal law and the constitution protect these rights,” Saunders said. “Florida school districts have been following federal law for more than a decade, establishing policies we know will continue to work long after this politically motivated proposed rule.
What it does do is attempt to bully and intimidate districts that are providing these accommodations. [Gov.] Ron DeSantis’s war on transgender Floridians must end.
All students deserve access to school facilities that are inclusive and safe.”At the meeting in Orlando where the rules were voted on, Nikole Parker, director of transgender equality at Equality Florida, said the restroom rule “is designed to intimidate school districts from following federal guidance, making schools less safe and adding fuel to a politically motivated crusade against LGBTQ youth and their families,” Orlando Weekly reports.
About 100 people attended the meeting to speak out for LGBTQ+ rights, and more than 1,000 sent messages to board members in support of teachers, families, and LGBTQ.
