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.”
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.”
“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 comes just hours before the state House is set to vote on three different bills targeting transgender youth in the state.
State Republicans are expected to pass legislation criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors, blocking trans people from using bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity, and barring youth from drag performances.