Florida green-lights “Don’t Say Gay” bill silencing talk of LGBTQ issues in school
nearly identical companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Dennis Baxley (R-Belleview), using much of the same language.Some parents praised lawmakers for moving to protect parental rights.
For example, January Littlejohn, a mother of a child in Tallahassee public schools, testified that her daughter’s school had created a gender identity plan for her daughter without the family’s knowledge or permission — which would be prohibited by the bill.“When parents are excluded from decisions affecting their child’s health and well-being at school, it sends the message to children that their parents’ input and authority are no longer important,” she said.But Democrats on the Education Committee argued that the bill’s provisions were vague, demanding more specific definitions of what constitutes “age-appropriate” or “developmentally appropriate.” They particularly honed in on the prohibition of LGBTQ-related content in schools, questioning whether the bill would be used to gag children of same-sex couples from being able to talk about their parents or their home lives, or punish teachers for addressing students’ questions about LGBTQ-related issues.
