The state of Florida reportedly plans to revoke or suspend the teaching licenses of educators who teach students in kindergarten through third grade about sexual orientation and gender identity.
A rule proposed in August and approved in September by Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. will enforce an already established law, the Parental Rights in Education law, which critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill earlier this year. The law prohibits schools from teaching children in grades K-3 from learning about sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Washington Post reported that the rule created in August states that any teacher who “intentionally” provides instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation will face “revocation or suspension of the individual educator’s certificate, or the other penalities provided by law.”
In addition, the Post added that the law requires schools to create a system for parents to report teachers who are not complying with it. If a parent approaches the school with concerns about the school teaching their children this type of curriculum, the law “makes it easy” for parents to file a lawsuit against the school district if their concerns are not addressed. And, the Florida Department of Education can launch investigations into the district for not complying.
“It should not be surprising that educators are at risk of having their certificates sanctioned if they violate state law,” Alex Lanfranconi, the director of communications for the Florida Department of Education, said in an emailed statement to EdWeek. “The proposed amendment will change nothing for teachers who follow the law and are focused on providing high-quality classroom instruction aligned to state academic standards.”
Predictably, LGBT+ advocacy groups came forward against the rule. Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, the executive director of LGBTQ rights group GLSEN, said in a statement to the Post on Thursday that the rule “will harm LGBTQ+ students, who we know benefit by having supportive teachers and inclusive curriculum in the classroom.”
This month, a federal judge dismissed a challenge to the Parental Rights in Education law that was filed by LGBT+ advocacy groups, arguing that it violated the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor ruled that the organizations did not show they had standing to pursue the case, which Townhall covered.
When Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed the parental rights bill into law, he said that parents also have the right to access their children’s curriculum and the books in the school libraries. He pointed out that polls show that parents overwhelmingly support these kinds of policies.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced federal legislation late last month that would protect parents’ rights in education and prevent schools from carrying out any sort of secretive gender transitions for students unbeknownst to their parents.
“The law in the United States has long recognized the importance of parental rights. A parent’s right to oversee the care education of their child is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment,” the bill reads. “Parents have a fundamental, constitutionally guaranteed right to raise and educate their children in the way they choose.”
“Public schools across the country are violating these fundamental parental and familial rights by deliberately hiding information about gender transitioning from their parents,” it continued.
One specific example mentioned in the bill is an incident that occurred in Fairfax County, Virginia. Townhall covered how teachers in the school district were given mandatory training materials that instructed them to hide students' gender transitions from parents. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin spoke out against the school district shortly after and introduced new model guidance requiring school districts to keep parents informed about their child’s gender identity.
“These schools are sabotaging the parent-child relationship and encouraging children to keep secrets from the adults who are charged with protecting and defending them – their parents,” the bill said. “Children do best when their parents are actively involved in their education.”