‘Hurtful and sultg’: Florida teachers react to the ‘don’t say gay’ bill | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• TEACHERS FEAR THE CHILLG EFFECT OF FLORIDA'S SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
• ‘I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO THE GAY ONE’: LGBTQ TEACHERS SAY THEY ARE FIGHTG ERASURE THEIR OWN CLASSROOMS
• HOW FLORIDA TEACHERS PLAN TO AL WH 'DON'T SAY GAY' L
• LGBTQ TEACHERS STGGLE TO NAVIGATE FLORIDA'S SO-CALLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
• FLORIDA TEACHERS NAVIGATE THEIR FIRST YEAR UNR THE 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
• ‘IT’S HAD A CHILLG EFFECT’: FLORIDA TEACHERS ANX ABOUT ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• ‘HURTFUL AND SULTG’: FLORIDA TEACHERS REACT TO THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• DO FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL VLATE THE FIRST AMENDMENT?
• FLORIDA'S ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL LAW OPPONENTS DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'

TEACHERS FEAR THE CHILLG EFFECT OF FLORIDA'S SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW

It's a bill that's drawn natnwi ntroversy, dubbed by opponents as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

Unr the new law, he wonrs, will be nsired age-appropriate to tell his stunts that the Revolutnary War hero, the Pssian General Friedrich Wilhelm Von Stben, is wily believed to have been openly gay? Demonstrators gather to prott what opponents ll the "Don't Say Gay" bill on the steps of the Florida Historic Capol Mm Tallahassee on March 7, 2022. As a gay man, he says, tells him and his LGBTQ stunts that there's somethg "appropriate" about them: that their inty is taboo, or somehow dirty.

"I n tell you as someone who grew up as a gay boy, how real that statistic is, " he says, "and how dangero is that the Republin legislators are playg wh the safety of our vulnerable youth. "So yeah, I'm not teachg kids how to be gay my classroom, but I'll tell you what I am dog. A high school assistant prcipal, Cz has faced cricism om other school admistrators the unty for beg an out gay tor.

‘I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO THE GAY ONE’: LGBTQ TEACHERS SAY THEY ARE FIGHTG ERASURE THEIR OWN CLASSROOMS

But wasn’t until this school year that a parent me to her school’s office and said, referrg to Cz, “I don’t want to talk to the gay one.

Florida’s HB 1557, lloquially known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which kickstarted a trend of attempted legislative bans on discsn of LGBTQ topics schools, was expand April to rtrict some discsns of genr inty and sexual orientatn public classrooms om krgarten to 12th gra. And though he matas his optimism the classroom wh his young stunts, the realy of beg a gay teacher a polil climate that’s bee creasgly hostile toward LGBTQ people n be much more challengg, even dangero, he said. He’s psed lsons after overhearg a stunt e the term “gay” a pejorative way, takg time to addrs the stunt and their qutns about the word.

Last year, after Florida troduced what crics lled s “Don’t Say Gay” legislatn, several other stat followed su and filed siar bills that affect whether teachers n e pronouns or nam stunts ask them to e.

HOW FLORIDA TEACHERS PLAN TO AL WH 'DON'T SAY GAY' L

Many ment to thank her for her ndor or wonr how their high school years uld have been different havg an out gay teacher like her.

NBC News reported on two teachers Florida and Kentucky, rpectively, the latter of whom was named Kentucky Teacher of the Year 2022, who qu their jobs after some parents and muny members cricized them for beg out gay men and sharg tails about their personal liv wh stunts. Other queer and trans teachers, particularly after Florida passed s “Don’t Say Gay” bill last year, have said they no longer feel supported or mentally healthy enough to ntue teachg, acrdg to reportg om CNN affiliate WPTV.

LGBTQ TEACHERS STGGLE TO NAVIGATE FLORIDA'S SO-CALLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW

How Florida teachers plan to al wh 'Don't Say Gay' l. Florida's ernor has signed what crics ll the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

AILSA CHANG, HOST: Florida teachers are tryg to figure out how the Parental Rights and Edutn Act, which opponents ll the don't say gay bill, will affect their classrooms. Will he still feel fortable tellg stunts that the Revolutnary War hero, the Pssian General von Stben, is wily believed to have been openly gay? As a gay man, he says, tells him and his LGBTQ stunts that there's somethg appropriate about them, that their inty is taboo or somehow dirty.

And I n tell you, as someone who grew up as a gay boy, how real that statistic is and how dangero is that the Republin legislators are playg wh the safety of our vulnerable McCracken is appalled when he hears DeSantis claim that schools are, the ernor's words, sexualizg kids and, quote, "jectg transgenrism to the classroom. So I'm not teachg kids how to be gay my classroom. ” This fall is the first school year which teachers and school admistrators mt follow Florida’s HB 1557—lled the “Parental Rights Edutn” statute by lawmakers and dubbed the Don’t Say Gay law by crics—that banned public school districts om teachg about sexual orientatn or genr inty krgarten through the third gra, or “ a manner that is not age-appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards.

FLORIDA TEACHERS NAVIGATE THEIR FIRST YEAR UNR THE 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW

) “All we want as tors is to create a safe space for our stunts and teach them to rpect each other, ” says Brian Kerek, a gay high school math teacher Osceola County, Florida. Cory Bernaert, a gay krgarten teacher Parrish, Florida, says his curriculum has never clud discsns of genr inty or sexual orientatn.

) “The fact that someone has to say to the teachers that you n have a picture of your spoe on your sk, shows the environment they’re havg to work , ” says McCracken, who is gay. Michael Woods, a gay high school special tn teacher Palm Beach County, says he terpreted Palm Beach’s school district’s guidance to mean that if a stunt tells him somethg about their genr or pronouns, he mt notify the kid’s parents. One of the measur, the Parental Rights Edutn law — or what crics have lled the “Don’t Say Gay” law — bans stctn about sexual orientatn and genr inty “ krgarten through gra 3 or a manner that is not age appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards.

“I’ve been extremely overwhelmed as a gay man who now is openly out, bee I have to be the advote, ” he said. “People know I’m a unn lear, and they know that I’m a gay man.

‘IT’S HAD A CHILLG EFFECT’: FLORIDA TEACHERS ANX ABOUT ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

Michael Woods, a high school special tn teacher Palm Beach unty, Florida, wh 30 years of experience teachg and who grew up as a stunt the area who was bullied for beg gay, said he cried the night before this school year began Augt 2022 bee of anxiety related to Florida’s “don’t say gay” bill that went to effect July 2022. “As a gay teacher, as a queer male, ’s been paful for me, ’s been very paful and very upsettg, ” said Woods.

‘HURTFUL AND SULTG’: FLORIDA TEACHERS REACT TO THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

“The bills are all based on false pretens, they’re li, they’re based on li, they make assumptns that somethg is happeng our schools area, that teachers are somehow doctratg our stunts, teachg them to be gay, or whatever the se may be, ” said Andrew Spar, print of the Florida Edutn add: “I thk the biggt thg gog to the school year is the unknown, bee this bill and the other bills that are out there, give parents the abily to brg plats agast teachers, brg lawsus agast school districts, and we jt don’t know how ’s gog to play out. ”Ron DeSantis, the ernor of Florida, signg the ‘don’t say gay’ bill March 2022. He’s ncerned Florida’s recent ntroversial “don’t say gay” bill is dangero, hateful legislatn that pos many risks to LGBTQ youth the state.

HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO

“Don’t say gay” also grants parents the right to sue for damag and attorney fe if a school district don’t rolve their plat about a child’s tn, which sentially forbids discsn of LGBTQ issu or inti. ”McCracken characterized the bill and py-t legislative efforts spreadg other parts of the US as part of a war on gay cvil rights igned by Republins and is eply ncerned about the negative impacts of the bill on stunts and teachers. “As a gay man, I fd both hurtful and sultg.

DO FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL VLATE THE FIRST AMENDMENT?

It’s hurtful, bee I don’t believe there’s anythg appropriate about my life as a gay man, ” he said.

FLORIDA'S ERNOR SIGNS NTROVERSIAL LAW OPPONENTS DUBBED 'DON'T SAY GAY'

I believe that I’m a good teacher and have posively impacted stunts and that me beg gay not only hasn’t been trimental to their learng, but has probably been helpful for a lot of people – not only LGBTQ+ stunts, but other stunts as well who see that I’m willg to live my life openly and that I believe everyone should be able to live their life wh digny and rpect and we should be treatg each other like fellow humans. Florida Republin state senator Dennis Baxley, a sponsor of the bill, remarks on the state senate floor, ma claims of a big uptick the number of children g out as gay and amed the bill as a rponse to that. “This bill, for me, is a sign of pure hatred, ” said Javier Gomez, a high school senr at iPrep Amy Miami, Florida, and print of his school’s Gay-Straight Alliance club.

I knew that I was gay at five years old. We’re beg left fensels whout the support we need and we are ntug to face homophobia om our ernment. ”Proponents of the “don’t say gay” legislatn are manufacturg smear mpaigns support of expandg the bills to other stat, cludg claims that Disney is attemptg to “sexualize our children” as part of a progrsive LGBTQ agenda.