MIAMI.- After two years of confrontation, the government of Florida and the plaintiffs against the Parents’ Right to Education law reached an agreement that puts an end to the legal battle and surprisingly both parties consider this as a victory.
On the one hand, Governor Ron DeSantis’ office said in a press release dated March 11 “that he had achieved an important victory against activists who tried to stop Florida’s efforts to keep radical sexual and gender ideology out of the state.” classrooms of public school children from kindergarten to third grade.
In 2022, several activists sued Florida alleging that the new law they called “Don’t Say Gay” violated the First Amendment and Title IX of the Equal Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational programs.
These activists who spoke out against the law, now consider that with this agreement they obtained a victory, since “despite the fact that the statute restricts the use of books to instruct students about the concepts of sexual orientation or gender identity , does not restrict mere literary references to a gay or transgender person or a same-sex couple.”
Equality Florida, one of the plaintiffs, argued that the settlement successfully dismantles the most harmful impacts of the law, ensuring that it cannot be used as a tool of discrimination against LGBTQ+ students, educators and families.
According to Equity Florida, the agreement guarantees and clarifies that students and teachers can speak and write freely about sexual orientation and gender identity when participating in classes and classroom assignments. It protects students from harassment based on sexual orientation and clarifies that the law cannot prohibit references to LGBTQ+ issues in any educational or extracurricular context. Likewise, it is established that extracurricular activities are protected, such as participation in LGBTQ+ student clubs.
In this sense, the governor’s office stressed that the law prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity, ensuring that at the beginning of each school year, parents will be notified about the health services offered at their school. children, with the right to refuse any service, and ensures that K-3 school health questionnaires are first approved by parents before being provided to students.
Thanks to Governor DeSantis’ leadership, the law remains in effect and children will be protected from radical sexual and gender ideology in the classrooms.”
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