Florida Teachers Can Talk About Sexual Orientation Under ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law Settlement

Students and teachers can talk about sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms Floridaas long as it is not part of the instruction, according to a settlement reached Monday between state education officials and civil rights lawyers who challenged a state law that critics dubbed “don’t say gay”.

The agreement clarifies what is allowed in classrooms Florida after the approval, two years ago, of the law that prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in the first years of school. Opponents said the law created confusion over whether teachers could identify as LGBTQ+ or if they could even have rainbow stickers in classrooms.

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Other states have used Florida’s law as a model for banning classroom teaching about gender identity or sexual orientation. Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky It is North Caroline These are some of the states that have versions of the law.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Florida Board of Education will send instructions to all school districts informing them that Florida law does not prohibit talking about LGBTQ+ people, prevent policies against harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, or disqualify groups from Gay-Straight Alliance. The agreement also explains that the law is neutral – meaning that what applies to LGBTQ+ people also applies to straight people— and does not apply to library books that are not used for classroom teaching.

The law also does not apply to books with incidental references to LGBTQ+ characters or same-sex couples,”as they do not constitute teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity, just as a math problem that asks students to add baskets of apples does not constitute teaching about growing apples.“, according to the agreement.

“What this agreement does is restore the fundamental principle, which I hope all Americans agree with, that every child in this country has the right to a public school education where they feel safe, their dignity is respected, and they welcome their families and parents.”he declared in an interview Roberta Kaplan, lead attorney for the plaintiffs. “This shouldn’t be controversial.”.

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In a statement, the Florida governor’s office, Ron DeSantisdescribed the agreement as “a great triumph“, as the law formally known as Parental Rights in Education Law.

“We fought hard to ensure that this law could not be insulted in court, as happened in the public sphere by the media and large corporations.“, he said Ryan Newman, attorney for the state of Florida. “We won and Florida classrooms will remain a safe place under the Parental Rights in Education Act”.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.