Controversy over state legislation affecting the LGBTQ community rarely leaves the state capitol halls. But the Florida Parental Rights to Education Act—which critics dubbed the Don’t Say Like Me Act—suddenly sparked a national war of words.
In recent weeks, global corporate leaders, editorial boards of major newspapers and Hollywood representatives have all thrown their weight at the proposed legislation, with some calling it “extremely worrisome” and others “uncontroversial.” Kate McKinnon broke the bill during the latest “Weekend Update” segment on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” The hosts of the ABC talk show “The View” discussed politics for more than seven minutes on air last month. Andy Cohen of Bravo dedicated an closing clip of “Watch What Happens Live” last week to critique the action.
The bill prompted President Joe Biden – who has rarely had a say in the list of recent bills relating to LGBT people – to use the White House pulpit to rebuke Florida’s action and its sponsors. Looks like the bill has cause a crack Between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who said he supports the bill but has yet to sign it, and Disney CEO Bob Tangling.
supporters HB 1557 They say it will give parents more control over their children’s education, acquittal “their parental authority”. Conversely, opponents say it will unfairly target the LGBTQ community – particularly gay and transgender students – and “Pretending to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. “
So what is it?
For starters, the criticism of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill actually does not state “gay” anywhere in its text is correct. However, the bill, passed by the Florida Senate last week and the state House of Representatives in February, includes the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” twice each.
But legal experts say whether the bill bans the word “gay” by itself is a “distraction.”
“In the same way that critical race theory is not taught in schools, that hasn’t stopped people like the governor of Florida from popularizing the term ‘critical race theory’ in efforts to engage in certain kinds of political maneuvering,” Charlton Copeland, a professor at University of Law School Miami writes about sexual orientation and gender identity. “The nickname ‘Don’t Say Like Me’ is a nickname about a particular political framing of this position.”
Beyond branding, the main debate around the bill centers on whether to ban “instructions” or “discussions” about sexual orientation.
The bill’s sponsors emphatically stated that the bill would not prevent students from talking about their LGBTQ families or classroom discussions about LGBTQ history, including events such as the 2016 deadly attack on the Pulse nightclub, an Orlando gay club. Instead, they argue, the bill would ban “instructions” of sexual orientation or gender identity.
But the text says both.
In its preamble, the bill’s authors wrote that their goal was to ban “classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity.” But in retrospect, the actual bill states, “Teaching in the classroom may not be conducted by school staff or third parties about sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“I can see why people are confused by that,” said Clay Calvert, a professor at the University of Florida’s Levine School of Law who specializes in free speech.
“I have no idea why this was left there, but this is not part of the binding legislation that DeSantis will sign,” Calvert added, referring to the word “discussion” in the bill’s preamble.
“Basically, all of this language is just telling us what the bill is about,” Calvert said, adding that the text in the bill’s preamble would have no real-life consequences.
Copeland disagreed.
“One of the things I was going to tell my students in the fall, when I taught them legal interpretation, and one of the things that the courts certainly do, is look at the preamble to evaluate, ‘Okay, what’s the scope of this term called Instructions?'” Copeland said. The preamble seems to have a much broader conception of what is prohibited when we think of a narrow concept of ‘instructions’.
“A good attorney in the local school district, and a good attorney in the state Department of Education will do just that,” he added.
Regardless, it remains unclear what the “instruction” of sexual orientation or gender identity entails. There is no definition of this type of lesson in the text of the law.
Without a clearer description, Calvert said, “teachers may legitimately fear prosecution” for a variety of classroom instruction, including lessons related to same-sex marriage or the history of the AIDS epidemic.
“If a student asks a question that is not part of the teacher’s lesson plan or instructional plan, but that question relates to sexual orientation or gender identity, what might the teacher say at this point?” Calvert said.
Calvert raised the possibility of answering a student’s question about how gay men marry each other.
“Am I teaching what the constitution says in this case, or am I teaching sexual orientation?” Asked.
The bill’s sponsors did not directly respond to repeated inquiries to provide examples of “instructions” of sexual orientation or gender identity during the House and Senate debate. When asked by a Democratic lawmaker to explain what the instructions for sexual orientation or gender identity would look like, state Republican Representative Joe Harding, one of the bill’s sponsors, read the definition of the word “instruction” from what appears to be a dictionary.
“Mystery is propagated for certain purposes. People are not mysterious just because they are ignorant; they are not mysterious because they are dirty. They are not mysterious because they are lazy,” Copeland said.
The age groups to which the bill will be applied have also sparked intense debate in recent weeks.
The text states that teachings about sexual orientation or gender identity will be prohibited “in kindergarten through third grade or in a manner that is inappropriate for the age or developmentally appropriate to students in accordance with state standards.”
Critics said the language of this ruling could open up counties and teachers to lawsuits from parents who believe any conversation about LGBTQ individuals or issues is inappropriate, regardless of their children’s age.
Legal experts agree, but argue that a parent’s interpretation of what is “age appropriate” and what is not will be overruled in court.
However, Calvert said, “It remains to be seen what ‘age appropriate’ or ‘developmentally appropriate’ means,” according to the state.
A provision on the last page of the bill would require the Florida Department of Education to update state standards “in accordance with the requirements of this Act” by June 30, 2023.
“The Department of Education has some leeway here to update and revise its own standards on what is age appropriate, and then those standards will affect how that law is actually implemented,” Calvert said. “In other words, it can extend even higher than the third grade.”
Copeland added that the mere threat of lawsuits would complete the “work” of the law.
“That kind of permanent possibility of having to fend for themselves, of the school district having to expend resources, is going to have its own frightening effects,” he said.
Should DeSantis, who is widely seen as eyeing the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election and has signaled his support for the measure several times, sign it, the legislation will go into effect on July 1.
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