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

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. * gay teachers florida *

) “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. 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.

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.

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

“You nnot teach kids to be gay or straight,” Alyssa Marano said. “I jt want my kids to be able to solve for X.” * gay teachers florida *

“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.

”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. “A lot of tst is given to teachers, and ma seem like I wasn’t tsted bee there’s somethg wrong wh me for beg gay, ” he said. “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.

IN A DEEP-RED FLORIDA COUNTY, THIS GAY TEACHER QU TO SAVE HER CAREER

LGBTQ+ teachers Florida said they've been told to hi their inti at work so as not to vlate the state's 'Don't Say Gay' law. * gay teachers florida *

” While the Orlando parents did not succeed havg Thollanr discipled or oted, he and other LGBTQ teachers the state worry that newly signed state law — tled Parental Rights Edutn but dubbed by crics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law — will galvanize parents to take siar actn agast them. Lawmakers who support the law have repeatedly strsed that would 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 nightclub, a gay club Orlando. They need tors that look and remble them, ” said Kerek, who is gay.

”“Teachers do not go out of their way to create the moments where we’re ‘doctratg’ stunts, ” said Woods, who is gay.

As a krgarten teacher who is gay and has pictur of himself and his partner his classroom, I regularly answer qutns om my stunts like: “Mr. Calls and emails were ma to my supertennt mandg my termatn, far-right news outlets began nng headl like “Gay krgarten teacher wants to talk to his kids about his love life,” and the number of random-number phone lls to my personal cellphone creased twofold.

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

Cory Bernaert, an openly gay krgarten teacher Florida, reacts to what crics ll Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which go to effect today. * gay teachers florida *

And a key part of that tn is the necsary, valuable buildg block of muny.When muny is built the classroom, the level of engagement I see my stunts mak hard to believe they are only 5 and 6 years old.But the Parental Rights Edutn law, which crics have lled the “Don’t Say Gay” law, ultimately eros that muny.

We n’t let them w.RelatedRon DeSantis’ woke math sndal shows how he’s bee more dangero than TmpFlorida’s anti-gay bill is wrong.

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.

TEACHER REACTS TO FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' POLICY: 'I HAVE TO STAY TE TO WHO I AM'

The new guidance as Florida's ntroversial Parental Rights Edutn Act, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law by crics, go to effect. * gay teachers florida *

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. “No one is teachg your kids to be gay! “Sometim they jt are gay.

I lerally don’t have time to teach your kids to be gay. ”“This gay teacher, who accepts her stunts exactly as they are, outsred the unty by 15% geometry and outsred the state by 10%, ” she add. ”Hundreds of people had shown up for the meetg, largely due to an ongog ntroversy over a fifth-gra teacher who had shown her stunts a Disney movie that clud a gay character.

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

Florida's ernor has signed what crics ll the "Don't Say Gay" bill. Teachers share how they plan to ply and how will affect classroom discsns on sexual orientatn and genr inty. * gay teachers florida *

And I’m gay. Marano was worried about gettg fired for vlatg Florida’s so-lled “Don’t Say Gay” law, which lims what teachers n say about genr inty and sexual orientatn the classroom and allows for a teacher’s license to be revoked if they break the law.

SOME SOUTH FLORIDA TEACHERS SAY 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW IS MAKG THEM NSIR LEAVG THE CLASSROOM

Jenna Barbee, the teacher who showed her class “Strange World, ” a movie about climate change that has a gay character, has also recently rigned. Shannon Rodriguez, a parent the district and a member of the school board who is backed by the ultranservative group Moms 4 Liberty, reported Barbee to the partment after she learned about stunts seeg the movie last said she’s worried that small gtur, like displayg a Pri flag, and teachers talkg to stunts about their liv outsi of school uld be grounds for disciplary actn unr the Don’t Say Gay law. “Providg stunts wh a rabow flag don’t mean you’re teachg kids to be gay, ” Marano said.

“You nnot teach kids to be gay or straight, ” Marano said.

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.

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

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). 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”. NBCJuly 1, 2022 at 11:28 PMCory Bernaert, an openly gay krgarten teacher Florida, reacts to what crics ll Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which go to effect today.

CAN FLORIDA’S GAY TEACHERS SHOW PHOTOS? THE WHE HOE CLAIMED NOT.

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. “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.

FLORIDA TEACHERS GET NEW MARCHG ORRS AS “DON’T SAY GAY” LAW GO TO EFFECT, AND ’S NOT PRETTY

”Ron DeSantis, the ernor of Florida, signg the ‘don’t say gay’ bill March 2022. Florida teachers who are gay or trans are pecially worried they won’t be able to do that anymore, bee of the new Parental Rights Edutn law, which opponents refer to as "Don't Say Gay.

She's gay and she rigned earlier this year while Hoe Bill 1557 was still beg bated.

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

Medvetz is gay. 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.

FLORIDA SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS CLOSED VTIGATN TO TEACHER WHO SHOWED DISNEY MOVIE WH GAY CHARACTER

Unr threat of havg their licens revoked, gay teachers have been forced to take down pictur of their spo om their sks and censor their classroom materials. ”— Whe Hoe prs secretary Kare Jean-Pierre, at the daily prs briefg, April 20Many rears ntacted The Fact Checker after Jean-Pierre, at the Whe Hoe lectern, lambasted an expansn of Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn Act, popularly known among crics as the “don’t say gay” law.

That changed earlier this month, when his admistratn cid to impose such rtrictns on all public school stunts, cludg fourth through 12th gras, wh certa ’s dispute is Jean-Pierre’s claim that unr the law, gay teachers have been forced to take down pictur of their spo or loved on. “There is no mer, for example, to the suggtn that the statute rtricts gay and transgenr teachers om ‘put[tg] a fay photo on their sk’ or ‘refer[rg] to themselv and their spoe (and their own children), ’” the filg said. ”Adari Payne, a seventh-gra teacher Wley Chapel, said he had to unrgo a week-long vtigatn after a parent plaed that his gay relatnship me up durg a math problem that volved a qutn about stunt asked Payne, 37, if he had any children.

Another stunt terpted, referencg photos of Payne’s partner on the wall and suggtg was impossible bee he was gay. Florida's Parental Rights Edutn Act, cricized as the "Don't Say Gay" law, took effect July 1.

RON DESANTIS'S FLORIDA BOARD OF EDUTN: HEY, WHAT ABOUT THE “PERSONAL BENEF” OF BEG A SLAVE?FLORIDA’S NEW AIN AMERIN STUDI CURRICULUM STANDARDS WILL FORCE PUBLIC SCHOOL STUNTS TO LEARN ABOUT SOME OF THE SUPPOSED UPSIS OF SLAVERY.BY ERIC LUTZJULY 20, 2023RON DESANTIS SPEAKS DURG A MPAIGN EVENT IOWA JULY 14.RACHEL MUMMEY/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGSAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVERON DESANTIS’S WAR ON “WOKENS” SCHOOLS ASCEND TO DANGERO NEW HEIGHTS WEDNDAY, AS FLORIDA’S STATE BOARD OF EDUTN APPROVED NEW AIN AMERIN STUDI CURRICULUM STANDARDS THAT, AMONG OTHER THGS, WOULD FORCE PUBLIC SCHOOL STUNTS TO LEARN ABOUT SOME OF THE SUPPOSED UPSIS OF SLAVERY — A WHEWASHG OF HISTORY THAT THE STATE’S LARGT TEACHERS UNN CRIED AS A “BIG STEP BACKWARD” FOR TN.“GOV. DESANTIS IS PURSUG A POLIL AGENDA GUARANTEED TO SET GOOD PEOPLE AGAST ONE ANOTHER, AND THE PROCS HE’S CHEATG OUR KIDS,” ANDREW SPAR, PRINT OF THE FLORIDA EDUTN ASSOCIATN, SAID A STATEMENT BLASTG THE NEW AIN AMERIN STUDI STANDARDS. “THEY SERVE THE FULL TTH OF AMERIN HISTORY, THE GOOD AND THE BAD.”FLORIDA PUBLIC SCHOOL STUNTS MAY NOT GET THAT UNR THE NEW L APPROVED WEDNDAY, WHICH REQUIRE TEACHERS— A SECTN ON SLAVERY— TO NOTE THAT “SLAV VELOPED SKILLS, WHICH, SOME STANC, ULD BE APPLIED FOR THEIR PERSONAL BENEF.” IN A SECTN ON “RENSTCTN AND BEYOND,” A PERD MARKED BY JIM CROW AND ROUTE WHE TERRORISM ON BLACK MUNI, THE NEW L DICTATE THAT STUNTS MT BE TGHT ABOUT “ACTS OF VLENCE PERPETRATED AGAST AND BY AIN AMERINS,” WHICH, AS DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATOR GERALDE THOMPSON POTED OUT, SUGGTS CINTS LIKE THE OEE MASSACRE WERE “SPARKED BY VLENCE OM AIN AMERINS.”“THAT’S BLAMG THE VICTIMS,” SAID THOMPSON, WHO, AS THE WASHGTON POST NOT, HELPED PASS A 2020 LAW REQUIRG FLORIDA SCHOOLS TO TEACH ABOUT THE 1920 MASSACRE, WHICH A WHE MOB KILLED DOZENS OF BLACK RINTS OF OEE, FLORIDA, ELECTN DAY VLENCE. (MANNY DIAZ, FLORIDA'S TN MISSNER, PRAISED THE CHANG, SAYG THAT “THIS IS SOMETHG THAT IS GOG TO SET THE NORM FOR STANDARDS OTHER STAT.”)TWTER NTENTTHIS NTENT N ALSO BE VIEWED ON THE SE ORIGAT OM.THE NEW STANDARDS E AS DESANTIS, A NTENR FOR THE 2024 REPUBLIN NOMATN, LAT HIS WAR ON SO-LLED “WOKE” TN, WHICH HAS CLUD BOOK BANS, THE REJECTN OF AN ADVANCED PLACEMENT URSE ON AIN AMERIN STUDI, AND THE PASSAGE OF THE STOP WOKE ACT, WHICH PROHIBS THE STCTN OF MATERIAL THAT ULD MAKE SOMEONE FEEL “GUILT, ANGUISH OR ANY FORM OF PSYCHOLOGIL STRS.” HIS NCERN FOR THE POSSIBLE “ANGUISH” OF FLORIDA STUNTS DO NOT SEEM TO EXTEND TO BLACK STUNTS, WHO ULD BE FORCED TO LEARN ABOUT THE SUPPOSED “BENEF” OF SLAVERY, NOR DO SEEM TO EXTEND TO LGBTQ KIDS AND THEIR FAI, WHO HAVE ALSO BEEN TARGETED HIS BATTLE. DESANTIS EXPAND HIS “DON’T SAY GAY” LAW THIS YEAR, AND THE FLORIDA BOARD OF EDUTN VOTED WEDNDAY FOR L THAT TOOK EVEN FURTHER — CLUDG BY BARRG TEACHERS OM ASKG STUNTS THEIR PREFERRED PRONOUNS. DIAZ SAID THE MOVE WOULD PROTECT KIDS OM “UNWELE FLUENC AND DOCTRATN," PRAISG DESANTIS, THE LEGISLATN, AND THE BOARD FOR WHAT HE SCRIBED A STATEMENT AS THEIR “UNWAVERG MMENT TO THE HEALTH, WELLBEG AND SAFETY OF OUR STUNTS.” BUT, AS CRICS CHARGED, THE L NSTUTED AN LATN THE “POLILLY-MOTIVATED WAR ON PARENTS, STUNTS, AND TORS” FLORIDA. “OUR STUNTS SERVE CLASSROOMS WHERE ALL FAI ARE TREATED WH THE RPECT THEY SERVE AND ALL YOUNG PEOPLE ARE WELED,” JENNIFER SOLOMON, EQUALY FLORIDA PARENTS & FAI SUPPORT MANAGER, SAID A STATEMENT WEDNDAY. “INSTEAD, THE DESANTIS ADMISTRATN NTU TO WIELD THE STATE AGAST .”“STOP TURNG OUR KIDS’ CLASSROOMS TO POLIL BATTLEFIELDS TO SRE CHEAP POTS,” SOLOMON NTUED.BUT DESANTIS, OF URSE, SHOWS NO SIGN OF STOPPG: HIS RELENTLS CULTURE WAR HELPED LIFT HIM TO NATNAL PROMENCE, AND HE HAS MA HIS CENTRAL — NAY, HIS ONLY — PCH TO GOP VOTERS HIS SPUTTERG PRINTIAL MPAIGN. “WE’VE MA THE STATE OF FLORIDA THE PLACE WHERE WOKE GO TO DIE,” HE SAID AT A RECENT MPAIGN EVENT. “AND NOW, IS OUR MISSN AS AMERINS TO ENSURE THAT JANUARY 2025…WE LEAVE WOKE IOLOGY THE DTB OF HISTORY WHERE BELONGS.”MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIRHOW FOUR BILLNAIRE TECHNO-OLIGARCHS ARE CREATG AN ALTERNATE REALYEXCLIVE NEW DETAILS ABOUT MEGHAN MARKLE’S WEDDG DRSWHY THE TAN SUBMERSIBLE DISASTER WAS YEARS THE MAKGHERE’S WHAT WE NEED SEASON 3 OF AND JT LIKE THAT…THE BRIEF DEATH (AND SHORT REBIRTH) OF LIL TAYINSI ANDREW STT AND PL ML’S METAPHYSIL LOVE STORYFROM THE ARCHIVE: A FATHER’S ACUNT OF THE TRIAL OF HIS DGHTER’S KILLEREND-OF-SUMMER SALE! TAKE 25% OFF AT THE VF SHOPMOST POPULARDONALD TMP’S PLAN TO GET REELECTED AND PARDON HIMSELF WAS JT DEALT SER SETBACKBY BS LEVGEIA REPUBLINS SAY THEY'LL MOVE TO REMOVE FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS FROM OFFICE WH NEW STATE LAWBY ERIC LUTZMSNBC IS HAVG ITS SUPER BOWL WH DONALD TMP’S INDICTMENTSBY CHARLOTTE KLEERIC LUTZ

"'There is no mer, for example, to the suggtn that the statute rtricts gay and transgenr teachers om 'put[tg] a fay photo on their sk' or 'refer[rg] to themselv and their spoe (and their own children), '" the memo says, referencg guidance issued by the state a motn to dismiss filed a lawsu seekg to validate the law. Crics have dubbed the act the "Don't Say Gay" law explicly bans the discsn of sexual orientatn and genr inty krgarten through third gra and clus ambiguo language banng that discsn " a manner that is not age appropriate or velopmentally appropriate. Florida’s so-lled “Don’t Say Gay” law go to effect July 1, and fears about the law’s vague language appear to be fully jtified.

Related: DeSantis prs secretary tweets vile take on ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill and the Inter jt n’t wh her. Subscribe to Queerty for a daily dose of #life #don'tsaygay #ronsantis stori and more.

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.

Some South Florida teachers say 'Don't Say Gay' law is makg them nsir leavg the classroom | WLRN

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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