Florida Settles ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Lawsuit: Teachers Can Talk About Gender And Sexual Orientation Outside Instruction

 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media in the Florida Cabinet following his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

Florida clarified the controversial Parental Rights in Education Act—dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law—allows teachers and students to discuss gender and sexual orientation so long as it’s not in official instruction, multiple outlets reported, in a settlement between the state and civil rights advocates over the law.

The settlement requires the Florida Board of Education to send instructions to all school districts clarifying details about the law that were previously vague, including that the law does not ban discussions about LGBTQ+ people or anti-bullying lessons, prevent Gay-Straight Alliance clubs or apply to library books that aren’t used in classroom instruction, the Associated Press reported.

Both the state and the advocates are calling the settlement a win: The settlement “restores the ability of students, teachers, and others in Florida schools to speak and write freely about sexual orientation and gender identity in class participation and schoolwork,” the office of lead counsel Roberta Kaplan—who represented the law’s opponents—said in a statement to Forbes.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ general counsel Ryan Newman said in a statement the settlement “ensures that the law will remain in effect” and that the state was “victorious,” adding “Florida’s classrooms will remain a safe place under the Parental Rights in Education Act.”

Kaplan—who was representing a number of parents, students, teachers and advocacy groups—said the settlement provided “much-needed clarity” and “represents a major victory for the many thousands of LGBTQ+ students, teachers, parents, and their allies throughout Florida.”

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“Simply put, the State of Florida has now made it clear that LGBTQ+ kids, parents, and teachers in Florida can, in fact, say that they are gay,” Kaplan said in her statement.

KEY BACKGROUND

DeSantis signed the bill into law in May 2022, saying at the time that parents’ rights have been “increasingly ignored” and criticizing classroom materials for having discussions of gender identity. The bill prohibited “classroom instruction” involving “sexual orientation or gender identity” through the third grade, and any discussions about it in older grades if it’s “in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate,” leading opponents to worry the law could restrict any discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in schools. It also required schools to notify parents of any changes “related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being,” unless it will result in “abuse, abandonment, or neglect,” which sparked concerns that it could require schools to out students to their parents before they’re ready. Though the law initially applied to students through third grade, it was extended in May 2023 to apply to students through eighth grade by the Florida Senate. The law faced immediate criticism from advocacy groups, Democratic lawmakers and President Joe Biden, who called it “hateful.” Disney also spoke out against the bill and suspended its political donations in Florida at the time, saying the bill was a “challenge to basic human rights”—a move that sparked Disney’s ongoing legal battles with DeSantis.

TANGENT

Kaplan first sued Florida in 2022 after DeSantis signed the bill, but the case was dismissed by a judge who said they didn’t have the standing to sue. Kaplan appealed that ruling and told the Associated Press she believed the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals would have reversed the decision, but that settling allowed students and teachers to have a resolution sooner.