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Get the latest coverage of the 2022 Florida legislative session in Tallahassee from our coverage partners and WUSF.

The House is expected to vote on a bill critics worry could harm LGBTQ kids

 Lawmakers are scheduled to vote Thursday on the so-called "Don't say Gay" bill.
Craige Moore
/
WFSU Public Media
Lawmakers are scheduled to vote Thursday on the so-called "Don't say Gay" bill.

Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando) says he believes the "Don't Say Gay" bill is a personal attack on LGBTQ youth in Florida.

The so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill is scheduled for a full vote in the House Thursday.

Just before the measure had its first hearing on the House floor Tuesday, the bill's sponsor scrapped a controversial amendment critics called a "state-mandated outing of LGBTQ students."

The amendment by Rep. Joe Harding (R-Williston) would have required school principals to notify parents within six weeks if their LGBTQ child came out at school.

Even without the amendment Democratic lawmakers still expressed several concerns over the measure Tuesday.

Harding’s bill regulates class discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation and would rely on state standards to determine whether those discussions are age appropriate. The bill also paves the way for parents to sue the school districts.

Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando) says he believes the bill is a personal attack on LGBTQ youth in Florida.

“It puts children in harm's way. It results in the erasure of LGBTQ students, families and history in our schools," Guillermo Smith says.

The House did pass a different amendment from Harding. It sets up a process for parents to address complaints—either through a special magistrate or through the courts. 

Copyright 2022 WFSU. To see more, visit WFSU.

Sarah Mueller is the first recipient of the WFSU Media Capitol Reporting Fellowship. She’ll be covering the 2017 Florida legislative session and recently earned her master’s degree in Public Affairs Reporting at the University of Illinois Springfield. Sarah was part of the Illinois Statehouse press corps as an intern for NPR Illinois in 2016. When not working, she enjoys playing her yellow lab, watching documentaries and reading memoirs.
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