White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield made a rare appearance at the daily press briefing Tuesday afternoon and told reporters the Department of Education will monitor the implementation of Florida's new Parental Rights in Education bill.
"The Department of Education...will monitor this law upon implementation to evaluate whether it violates federal civil rights law," Bedingfield said.
The White House is directing the Department of Education to evaluate whether or not Florida's parental rights legislation violates federal civil rights law. pic.twitter.com/O9uyWZw8P0
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 29, 2022
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has said the same.
By signing this bill, Gov. DeSantis has chosen to target some of Florida’s most vulnerable students & families. @USEdGov continues to stand with the LGBTQI+ community and is working to protect the civil rights of all students.
— Secretary Miguel Cardona (@SecCardona) March 28, 2022
The Parental Rights in Education bill bars the instruction of sexual education or orientation to children younger than eight years old and is supported by the majority of Americans, including Democrats. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law this week and blasted critics for misrepresenting its purpose.
“Parents’ rights have been increasingly under assault around the nation, but in Florida we stand up for the rights of parents and the fundamental role they play in the education of their children,” DeSantis released in a statement. “Parents have every right to be informed about services offered to their child at school, and should be protected from schools using classroom instruction to sexualize their kids as young as 5 years old.”
DeSantis absolutely drops the hammer on Hollywood for their criticisms of Florida at the Oscars last night:
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 28, 2022
"If the people who held up degenerates like Harvey Weinstein as heroes are opposing us on parents right, I wear that like a badge of honor." pic.twitter.com/8XhiyckHuT