As Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' law tak effect, schools roll out LGBTQ rtrictns

Contents:

• LGBTQ GROUPS SUE FLORIDA OVER SO-LLED ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW
• AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS
• LGBTQ+ TEACHERS TOLD TO HI WHO THEY ARE AS DON’T SAY GAY GO TO EFFECT
• TEACHERS TOLD TO REMOVE RABOWS, PHOTOS OF SAME-SEX SPO AS DESANTIS’ ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW GO INTO EFFECT
• FACT-CHECKG 3 PROMENT CLAIMS ABOUT FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• FLORIDA SCHOOL BOARDS, CLUDG ORANGE COUNTY, SUED OVER ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW
• ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW BRGS WORRY, NFN TO FLORIDA SCHOOLS

LGBTQ GROUPS SUE FLORIDA OVER SO-LLED ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW

(AP) — Gay rights advot sued Florida Gov. Crics ll the “ Don’t Say Gay ” law and argue that s te tent is to margalize LGBTQ people and their fai.

As Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn law — or what crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law — go to effect Friday, some of the state’s public school districts have begun rollg out new polici to lim LGBTQ issu and inti om beg discsed the Tuday night, the Leon County School Board unanimoly approved s “LGBTQ Inclive School Gui, ” which clus a provisn to alert parents if a stunt who is “open about their genr inty” is their child’s physil tn class or wh them on an overnight school trip.

AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS

Clifford / AP fileThe so-lled Don’t Say Gay law, HB 1557, bans “stctn” about sexual orientatn or genr inty “ krgarten through gra 3 or a manner that is not age appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards. ” A provisn the law also requir school staff members to alert parents about “cril cisns affectg a stunt’s mental, emotnal, or physil health or well-beg, ” which many advot have terpreted as a way to force tors to out their gay or trans stunts. They have also ntend that will not prohib teachers and stunts om talkg about their LGBTQ fai or bar classroom discsns about LGBTQ history, cludg events like the 2016 attack at the Pulse gay nightclub crics and legal experts have said the broad language of the law uld open school districts and teachers to lawsus om parents who believe any nversatn about LGBTQ people or issu is “not age appropriate.

Carlos Smh, a Democrat who is gay and has been an outspoken cric of the new law, said he was “not surprised” that schools the state were announcg the polici and guil. “What’s happeng right now — wh the censorship of rabow flags and school districts preparg to basilly ph LGBTQ stunts and teachers to the closet — is exactly what we said would happen wh the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. "Members and supporters of the LGBTQ muny at the "Say Gay Anyway" rally Miami Beach, Fla., on March 13.

Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Imag fileFive other stat — all of them the South — have enacted laws that lim stctn or discsns about LGBTQ people or issu school, and at least 32 others have proposed such measur this year, acrdg to acrdg to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ thk tank that has been trackg the strsed that the polici will have nsequenc for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer stunts, potg to the disproportnately high rat of suici attempts among the untry’s LGBTQ youths.

LGBTQ+ TEACHERS TOLD TO HI WHO THEY ARE AS DON’T SAY GAY GO TO EFFECT

”In Palm Beach County, Woods, who is gay, said that after they received the qutnnaire om school officials to flag urse material or books wh LGBTQ referenc, many of his lleagu are nervo they’ll be reprimand if they miss somethg. LGBTQ+ school staff Florida have been told to hi pictur of their same genr spoe and not wear rabows as ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law go to effect.

LGBTQ+ teachers Florida said they’ve been told they mt hi their inti while at work so as not to vlate the state’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. Durg the meetg, OSPC attorneys advised prcipals across the school district on what would and wouldn’t be legal unr Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, which is slated to take effect Friday (1 July).

TEACHERS TOLD TO REMOVE RABOWS, PHOTOS OF SAME-SEX SPO AS DESANTIS’ ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW GO INTO EFFECT

Another OCPS official said a separate nversatn that the district need to be ut the wake of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law gog to effect until the state provid more clary on how the legislatn would be enforced. Florida ernor Ron DeSantis signed the state’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislatn to law March. Robert Thollanr left the school after 11 years of workg Florida as a teacher and said the cint ma him feel like he “wasn’t tsted bee there’s somethg wrong” wh him for beg gay.

“It mak seem like beg gay is somethg vile or disturbg or disgtg when ’s scribed as makg children unfortable knowg that I’m married to a man, ” Thollanr said. Nilette Solomon, a teacher Miami-Da County, told the outlet that the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law would “erase” her as an “LGBTQ” teacher”. Sad gay man (Shutterstock).

Teachers Orange County, Florida are beg told to scrape rabow stickers off doors and wdows, take photos of their fai off their sks if they have a same-sex spoe, and are beg directed to report if a stunt out as LGBTQ, as Governor Ron DeSantis' "Don't Say Gay" law go to effect July 1, acrdg to a teachers' anizatn. But crics nicknamed HB 1557 the “don’t say gay” bill, warng isn’t necsary and mak some stunts feel unsafe by sglg out LGBTQ material as dangero and appropriate. Dennis Baxley (R-Ola) the bill’s Senate sponsor who said he was addrsg “social engeerg” that uld rult more children intifyg as gay or transgenr.

FACT-CHECKG 3 PROMENT CLAIMS ABOUT FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

” The guidance clus fns of terms related to sexual orientatn and genr inty — cludg gay, lbian and transgenr — that teachers are enuraged to e when applible.

” The word ‘gay’ People on Facebook and Twter have said that Florida Republins want to ban the word “gay” school.

FLORIDA SCHOOL BOARDS, CLUDG ORANGE COUNTY, SUED OVER ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW

“GOP’s 2022 platform: Ban books, Ban abortn, Ban Black history, Ban transgenr teens, Ban sayg ‘gay’ and Ban votg, ” said Dean Obeidallah, a left-leang rad host and edian, on March 11. ’” On SNL’s “Weekend Update” segment, anchor Col Jost told st member Kate McKnon, who is gay, that the bill “means that you n’t acknowledge that ‘gay’ exists at all. ” McKnon then slammed the legislatn, sayg, “I am eply gay — sorry, eply ncerned.

‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LAW BRGS WORRY, NFN TO FLORIDA SCHOOLS

It jt seems like this is gog to make kids gay and trans — sorry, prsed and suicidal. ” The claims n largely be attributed to the legislatn’s “don’t say gay” nickname, ed by Equaly Florida.

The legislatn do not lerally prohib Floridians om sayg the word “gay, ” but do prohib “classroom discsn about sexual orientatn or genr inty. “They’re jt ntug the fear mongerg om ssn, ” says Jon Harris Mrer, public policy director for Equaly Florida, scribg 2023 legislative chang that fall squarely to the more-of-the-same-homophobic-nonsense tegory. DeSantis support of anti-gay vio lled bad strategy, worse msage.

A provisn that would extend the famo “Don’t Say Gay” provisns to middle schools. Florida needs more public officials to fd the urage to stand up to Florida’s self-signated emperor and say “Governor, for someone so foced on ‘Don’t Say Gay, ’ you sure seem to brg up a lot. “Florida enacted HB 1557 to silence and erase lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer and qutng young people and fai, ” the lawsu said.