‘It’s had a chillg effect’: Florida teachers anx about ‘don’t say gay’ bill | Florida | The Guardian

Contents:

• TEACHERS FEAR THE CHILLG EFFECT OF FLORIDA'S SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
• FLORIDA TEACHERS NAVIGATE THEIR FIRST YEAR UNR THE 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
• LGBTQ TEACHERS STGGLE TO NAVIGATE FLORIDA'S SO-CALLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
• ‘IT’S HAD A CHILLG EFFECT’: FLORIDA TEACHERS ANX ABOUT ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL
• FLORIDA TEACHER UNR VTIGATN FOR SHOWG DISNEY MOVIE WH GAY CHARACTER SAYS SHE DIDN’T KNOW LGBTQ RTRICTN APPLIED TO HER CLASS

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?

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.

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

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. ” 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.

LGBTQ TEACHERS STGGLE TO NAVIGATE FLORIDA'S SO-CALLED '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. 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.

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

“As a gay teacher, as a queer male, ’s been paful for me, ’s been very paful and very upsettg, ” said Woods. “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. A Florida teacher unr a state vtigatn for showg a Disney movie featurg a gay character said she wasn’t aware the state’s ntroversial law banng stctn about certa LGBTQ topics had been recently expand to apply to her gra level. The Disney film tells the story of a fay of explorers and featur a gay character.

FLORIDA TEACHER UNR VTIGATN FOR SHOWG DISNEY MOVIE WH GAY CHARACTER SAYS SHE DIDN’T KNOW LGBTQ RTRICTN APPLIED TO HER CLASS

When DeSantis signed the ban to law last year, he and other Florida Republins touted as a protectn of parents’ rights, while opponents slammed as yet another effort by GOP lawmakers the state to erase and opprs LGBTQ people schools, llg the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.