Known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, this piece of legislation has sparked much controversy in recent weeks. However, most of this outrage is completely unfounded. Those who disagree with this bill are upset with the following wording:
3. A school district may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.
Many believe that by not allowing schools to encourage talk about sexuality or gender orientation they are hindering the rights of LGBTQ+ members to express themselves to their students. However, when reading this section of HB 1557, it is quite apparent that this bill is not trying at all to undermine someone’s expression of their sexuality. On the contrary, all this bill is intending to do is keep any sexual talk out of classrooms where it is not age appropriate, and by doing so, protect the student and parents. Why would you want your primary school aged child to be taught about such an intense subject that is far too complex for them to understand? And if you did want your primary school aged child taught this, wouldn’t you rather do it yourself? Wanting to talk about sex and gender identity in a primary school classroom is, put tactfully, extremely gross. Only groomers and pedophiles would want young children to be subject to this kind of talk. If you want to express your sexuality and gender orientation so badly, do so with an age appropriate audience. This should not be a controversial request.
It is saddening that people have focused so much on this tiny section of the bill, for not only have they misunderstood this bill’s intentions, but have also missed the other amazing things that this bill allows for.
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 and the school’s ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment
For instance, this bill also mandates that schools notify parents if there is any change in how they are serving their children or if their child’s well-being has changed. The reason for this is to allow parents to know how their child is doing as well as what decision can best be made to protect their child.
School district personnel may not discourage or prohibit parental notification of and involvement in critical decisions affecting a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.
In addition, this bill also prohibits the school from withholding important information form parents about their students. This includes information about their mental, physical, or emotional health. They also cannot encourage a student to withhold information unless that information would result in some form of abuse on the child.
When I read these excerpts, I do not see a controversial bill. I see legislation that was written with the intent on protecting underaged students and their parents. I do not see why a school teacher would want to discuss sexuality with their primary school students. I do not see why a person would want schools to be withholding information from parents. These things should not be happening in society anyways, and it’s honestly quite sad that we must not only make legislation to stop it, but must also defend that legislation.
Read the full bill here: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1557/BillText/Filed/PDF
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