'Don't Say Gay' Law

In the run-up to the midterm elections, a growing number of conservative groups are turning their attention to often-ignored school board races. Their aim is to put conservatives in control of more school systems to scale back teachings on race and sexuality.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor finds that plaintiffs did not show they had legal standing. The law restricts instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in primary grades.

She called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to work with her members to help students, rather than trying to "divide parents and teachers" through what she says are divisive and damaging policies.

A nonprofit notes that over the 2021–22 school year, what started as modest school-level activity to challenge and remove books in schools grew into a full-fledged social and political movement.

Wrote the plaintiffs: “Throughout Florida, schools are taking extraordinary measures to purge any trace of LGBT people from schools, and teachers are afraid to show any support for LGBT students.”

Lawyers in Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office say the Legislature has discretion to make choices about school curriculums.

The motion contends that the law “was enacted with the purpose to discriminate and has the effect of discriminating against LGBTQ+ students and those with LGBTQ+ family members.”

The Stop Woke Act, Parental Rights in Education law, and new rules about curriculum transparency are changing school practices across the state.

The Parental Rights in Education law and the Stop WOKE Act have caused some confusion among teachers and school districts as they try to work out what can and can’t be said to avoid lawsuits.

Recently released federal guidelines would extend protections under the law to include schools’ “obligations not to discriminate based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Manny Diaz Jr. said it would “vastly expand the application” of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational institutions.

It was filed against the school boards in Orange, Indian River, Duval and Palm Beach counties.