Joe Harding, previously told CNN that the bill is meant to deter school staff from inquiring about a student’s gender identity or pronouns without including their parents in the conversation. The bill’s co-sponsor in the Florida House, Republican state Rep.
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Dennis Baxley, said that he was concerned that kids are “experimenting” with sexual orientation and that was part of his motivation for the legislation.
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Jeff Brandes, a Republican, offered an amendment that would have broadened the legislation to prohibit all instruction of any sexual topics in an attempt to eliminate concerns from LGTBQ advocates that the bill stigmatized members of the community, but it failed.īrandes, along with one other Republican state senator, joined Democrats in voting against the measure Tuesday.ĭuring Monday’s debate, the bill’s Senate sponsor, Republican state Sen. Shevrin Jones, who brought some senators to tears as he spoke about his experience as a gay Floridian. More than a dozen attempts by members of the Florida Senate to amend the bill on Monday failed, despite emotional pleas from some Democrats, including state Sen. Advocates also fear the bill would restrict students’ ability to speak confidentially with school counselors - some of whom are a student’s sole resource for mental health services. In addition, the measure would require districts to “adopt procedures for notifying a student’s parent if there is a change in the student’s services or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being,” something LGBTQ advocates argue could lead to some students being outed to their parents without the student’s knowledge or consent. The bill states that “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” But, he acknowledged, “I don’t think it’s happening here in large numbers.”īill seeks to limit classroom instruction His office did not immediately return a request for comment on the Senate’s passage Tuesday, but in February, he said it was “entirely inappropriate” for teachers and school administrators to have conversations with students about their gender identity. If signed by DeSantis, a staunch conservative who has a history of supporting anti-LGBTQ measures in the state, the bill would take effect in July. The legislation has drawn scrutiny from Democrats in the state and elsewhere, including from President Joe Biden, who vowed last month to protect LGBTQ youth from such measures. The bill’s opponents have also decried a part of the legislation that allows parents to bring civil suits against a school district for any potential violation of its rules, arguing it would open educators up to an endless barrage of litigation.
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They’ve pointed to data showing that LGBTQ youth reported lower rates of attempting suicide when they had access to LGBTQ-affirming spaces. Opponents, however, have dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, arguing the ban it creates would negatively impact an already marginalized community.