Florida board votes to expand ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law to all grades as state passes 3 anti-trans bills

The Florida Board of Education on Wednesday approved a rule banning the discussion of LGBTQ issues in classrooms for students through 12th grade, a move that puts “a target on the back of LGBTQ Floridians,” advocates said.

The proposal, put forward by Governor Ron DeSantis last month, was slammed by critics as another “bigoted” rule that shows the Republican governor’s aggressive take on social issues, as he appears to appeal to conservative voters ahead of a potential White House run.

The rule is expected to take effect in the coming weeks after a procedural notice period that lasts about a month, according to an education department spokesman.

Florida currently bans discussions on LGBTQ issues in classrooms through third grade. Last year DeSantis signed into law the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prohibits discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation among young children.

The law, a victory for conservatives in the state, sparked a dramatic increase in anti-LGBTQ vitriol on social media, as well as in-person protests against LGBTQ youth events in the state.

Earlier this year, research released by The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a think tank that focuses on LGBTQ law and policy, found that nearly six out of 10 LGBTQ parents said the law has led them to consider moving to a different state — while 17% had already taken steps to do so.

The rule change now bans classroom discussion on sexual orientation or gender identity from grades 4-12.

The policy “will escalate the government censorship sweeping our state, exacerbate our educator exodus, drive hardworking families from Florida, and further stigmatize and isolate a population of young people who need our support now more than ever,” the state’s largest LGBTQ rights group, Equality Florida, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “The lust for government censorship is insatiable.”

[ Mayor Adams feuds with Florida’s Ron DeSantis over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law ]

Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., a DeSantis appointee, has downplayed the rule, which was previously slammed by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as “completely, utterly wrong” and “part of a disturbing and dangerous trend that we’re seeing across the nation of targeting LGBTQ people.”

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“We’re not removing anything here,” Diaz Jr. said on Wednesday. “All we are doing is we are setting the expectations so our teachers are clear: that they are to teach to the standards.”

The Florida Board of Education’s approval came just hours before the GOP-controlled House passed three bills drastically restricting the rights of LGBTQ Floridians.

In an 80-37 vote, state lawmakers passed a bill banning trans people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. A companion bill is still being heard in the state Senate.

Shortly after, by a vote of 82-32, the House passed legislation dubbed “the anti-drag show bill,” which already passed the Senate and now heads to the governor’s desk.

Later on Wednesday, lawmakers voted 82-31 on legislation that criminalizes gender-affirming care for minors — “a supportive form of healthcare” that’s backed by nearly all major medical associations in the U.S.

A similar bill was already approved by the Senate but, because of amendments, needs to go back to the upper chamber for another vote.

With News Wire Services