Nikki Haley Says DeSantis's 'Parental Rights In Education' Law 'Doesn't Go Far Enough'

Sarah Arnold | February 17, 2023 8:30 PM

Former Governor and 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) believes Gov. Ron DeSantis's "Parental Rights in Education" law doesn't go far enough to protect children's innocence.

During a town hall, Haley said that the law, which bans sexual talk until the third grade, should prohibit such lessons until kids are at least in the seventh grade.

"Basically, what it said was you shouldn't be able to talk about gender before third grade," Haley said, adding, "I'm sorry, I don't think that goes far enough."

She criticized the law, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by woke opponents, saying that parents should be the ones to talk to their children about sex and gender, not their teachers.

"When I was in school, you didn't have sex ed until seventh grade. And even then, your parents had to sign whether you could take the class," Haley continued. "That's a decision for parents to make."

However, Haley praised DeSantis's efforts in protecting children despite disagreeing with his law.

"I think Ron's been a good governor. I just think that third grade's too young. We should not be talking to kids in elementary school about gender, period," Haley said in a statement to Fox News. "And if you are going to talk to kids about it, you need to get the parents' permission to do that… that is something between a parent and a child. That is not something that schools need to be teaching. Schools need to be teaching reading and math, and science. They don't need to be teaching whether they think you're a boy or a girl."