The state of Florida and plaintiffs challenging a parental rights law that critics have nicknamed “Don’t Say Gay” agreed to a settlement Monday that clarifies the scope of the law, which prohibits teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The plaintiffs, a group that included students, parents, educators and LGBTQ advocacy groups, had accused the law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, of causing confusion and fear in public schools. The settlement says students and teachers are allowed to talk about sexual identity and gender orientation in public schools as long as it’s not part of formal classroom instruction.
The plaintiffs claimed victory, saying it would end discrimination stemming from ambiguities in the law, officially called the Parental Rights in Education Act.
The administration of Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, also touted the settlement as a major victory, saying it confirmed that critics had deliberately misrepresented the law as applying more broadly than it actually did.
Opponents had argued that the law’s vague language scared students into thinking they couldn’t create art depicting same-sex parents, teachers into thinking they couldn’t display a photo of a same-sex partner, and schools into thinking that they can no longer allow homosexuals. subject books or student organizations that support gay students.
Roberta Kaplan, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement that the settlement “protects against hate and bullying.” He added: “Simply put, the State of Florida has now made it clear that LGBTQ+ children, parents and teachers in Florida can, in fact, say they are gay.”
In its statement, Mr. DeSantis’ office said the settlement would ensure that “children are protected from radical gender and sexual class ideology in the classroom” because the law remains on the books. The administration now expects the case to be dismissed, said Ryan Newman, the governor’s general counsel.
“We fought hard to ensure that this law could not be undermined in court as it has been in the public arena by the media and big corporate players,” Mr Newman said in the statement.
The settlement, filed with the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, comes nearly two years after Mr. DeSantis signed the law. The measure became central to the image he had built before his failed presidential campaign as a Republican who would not back down to the political left, which he derided as “woke.”
Mr. DeSantis has long defended the law as a popular common sense measure. Critics, she said, “are actually arguing that the gender ideology has been awakened in the first grade.”
But the nickname stuck. And the law, along with a number of other controversial ones signed by Mr. DeSantis in recent years, led organizations such as Equality Florida, one of the plaintiffs, to issue travel advisories last year, citing concern about reducing rights and freedoms in state .
Cecile Houry, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said she and her partner, Rabbi Amy Morrison, had sued because they feared the law could cause their two young children in public schools to face discrimination because they had two mothers. The legislation may not explicitly say “don’t say gay,” said Dr. Khoury, director of grants for the city of Miami Beach, but that was the practical result.
“When you make everything a potential issue, a potential lawsuit and a potential dismissal, it really does that,” he said. “People couldn’t or felt they shouldn’t or felt at risk if they said something, so it ended up silencing or silencing a lot of things.”
The law allows parents to sue school districts for violations.
The language of the settlement, which the state must share with Florida’s 67 public school districts, makes clear that the law does not limit “literary references to a gay or transgender person or same-sex couple” in public classrooms. schools. It says LGBTQ references are not prohibited in literature, class discussions, student academic work or revision. Nor are such references prohibited when it comes to teachers’ spouses or partners or in any other context outside of teaching.
The settlement also says that teaching must be neutral on issues of sexual orientation or gender identity, meaning teachers cannot, for example, teach that heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality or bisexuality.
It also clarifies that the law does not ban classes or intervention to stop bullying, and does not require the removal of “safe spaces” in schools for LGBTQ people or stickers identifying such places.
And it makes clear that student-run organizations, such as gay-straight alliances, are allowed in Florida schools, along with book fairs, musicals or plays with LGBTQ references or characters, and expressions and clothing that don’t align with one’s perceived gender identity. person.
The law does not apply to school library books as long as they are not used for instruction, the settlement states.
