Gov. Ron DeSantis is angry that critics have successfully attached the “Don’t say gay” label to what he calls parental rights legislation that he signed this week. DeSantis — usually the master of attaching labels like “critical race theory” to innocuous things he doesn’t like — has accused them of misconstruing what it does.
In other words, people who truly read the bill know what it does. Or do they?
Many who have done so can’t answer this basic question: What will actually change for students and teachers? Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Jose Dotres told the Herald Editorial Board that he’s awaiting guidance from the state.
The problem with the law isn’t only what it does, but how much it leaves up in the air.
A lawsuit filed Thursday by a coalition of LGBTQ-advocacy groups, parents, students and a teacher claims the law’s vagueness violates due process rights.
“The challenge with the ‘Don’t say gay’ bill is that it is incredibly vague,” Jon Harris Maurer, public policy director at Equality Florida, told the Editorial Board.
Perhaps that’s the bill’s true intent: to make it so vague that, even before it’s implemented, it creates a chilling effect among teachers and schools that would rather err on the side of caution so they don’t risk parents’ complaints or a lawsuit.
Will it require schools to out LGBTQ students, as opponents fear? What does “age appropriate” mean in the context of classroom discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity? The latter will be defined by the Florida Department of Education, which has until June 30, 2023, to come up with those guidelines. But the law goes into effect July 1, 2022, potentially leaving schools in a limbo and opening them up to accusations that they are violating the law.
At a first glance, it appears Miami-Dade County Public Schools already complies with the bill’s most controversial provision banning classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3. Dotres said that’s currently not part of the curriculum in those grades. The law also forbids instruction on those topics in other grades in a manner that’s not “age appropriate.” Dotres said that “We have age-appropriate materials” already.
Equally vague is another part of House Bill 1557, which says that districts may not “prohibit school district personnel from notifying a parent about his or her student’s mental, emotional or physical health or well-being.” It also requires schools to notify a parent “if there is a change in the student’s services or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health.” The law makes an exception when disclosing information may lead to abuse, neglect or abandonment.
LGBTQ advocates raised concerns during the legislative session that those provisions could lead schools to out students. Sponsor Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, has said that’s not necessarily the case. But the answer seems to be open to interpretation. What does a change in a “student’s services” actually mean?
School districts have gone to great lengths to protect LGBTQ students’ privacy. Miami-Dade has a guidebook for “Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ+ Students” that deals with everything from using a child’s preferred pronouns to the complexities of “coming out.” For example, it states that “LGBTQ+ people have the right to decide when and how to reveal to others their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
These efforts have put districts in hot water with Republican lawmakers. They took issue with policies in Leon and Martin counties that advise teachers and staff not to out LGBTQ students to their parents, Politico reported. Miami-Dade’s handbook states, “Under no circumstance should someone out someone else without that person’s permission.” However, it doesn’t specify they shouldn’t be outed to parents. So it’s unclear if the district will be forced to change its policies.
There are reasons why “coming out” can be so precarious. Thirty percent of LGBTQ youth are victims of physical violence by a family member after their sexual orientation is disclosed, Miami-Dade’s guidebook says. Even when physical violence, abuse, neglect or abandonment is not an issue, coming out to parents who aren’t accepting still can be traumatic. Think of the teens who have been coerced or forced to undergo damaging conversion therapy. Of course, there’s no expectation of privacy when a young person is at risk of harming themselves or others.
If there’s one silver lining in the debate over ‘Don’t say gay,” it’s that it has prompted school districts to reaffirm their commitment to LGBTQ students.
“This bill will not prevent us from assisting students who are experiencing issues with their identity ... but at the same time addressing parental rights,” Dotres said.
As we wait to see the full effects of HB 1557, that’s our best hope.
