Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is celebrating a triumph following the resolution of a lawsuit between plaintiffs and state education officials concerning a legislation he strongly supported, known as the “Parental Rights in Education Act.” This law, often referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, was contested by civil rights attorneys, as reported by Newsweek.
The “bill was signed into law by DeSantis in March 2022. It initially banned instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for public school students in kindergarten through the third grade before it was expanded to all grades last year,” the outlet reported.
Critics argued that the law would have negative consequences for LGBTQ+ students in school settings. Soon after Governor DeSantis approved the legislation, a lawsuit was filed by a coalition consisting of parents, students, and teachers from various parts of Florida, as well as nonprofit organizations Equality Florida and Family Equality, challenging the law. Yesterday, the plaintiffs’ main attorney, Roberta Kaplan, announced a settlement, with both parties declaring success.
Newsweek added: “Under the terms of the settlement, students and teachers will be able to freely discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms as long as the topics are not part of instruction, according to a statement sent to Newsweek via email by Kaplan’s office. The terms state that the Florida Board of Education will send instructions to school districts that the law doesn’t ban discussing the LGBTQ+ community, prevent anti-bullying rules or bar Gay-Straight Alliance groups. The settlement also spells out that the law is neutral—meaning what applies to LGBTQ+ people also applies to heterosexual people—and that it doesn’t apply to library books not being used in the classroom.”
DeSantis’ office made the announcement, saying:
“Prohibits classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in K–3 classrooms, and after 3rd grade, these conversations need to be age-appropriate, ensures that at the beginning of every school year, parents will be notified about healthcare services offered at the school, with the right to decline any service offered, and ensures that whenever a questionnaire or health screening is given to K–3 students, parents receive it first and provide permission for the school to administer the questionnaire or health screening to their child.”
“We fought hard to ensure this law couldn’t be maligned in court, as it was in the public arena by the media and large corporate actors,” said General Counsel Ryan Newman. “We are victorious, and Florida’s classrooms will remain a safe place under the Parental Rights in Education Act.” They went on to say that the settlement is “a major win against the activists who sought to stop Florida’s efforts to keep radical gender and sexual ideology out of the classrooms of public-school children in kindergarten through third grade.”
DeSantis has consistently championed the bill as a measure to safeguard young children from exposure to sexually inappropriate material.
“In Florida, we not only know that parents have a right to be involved, we insist that parents have a right to be involved,” DeSantis said.
