Miami, Apr 19 (EFE).- The Florida Department of Education approved this Wednesday to extend to secondary education the controversial law known as “Don’t say gay” that prohibits teachers from addressing gender identity and sexual orientation and was the spark of the current confrontation between Governor Ron DeSantis and the Disney group.
This law, officially called “Parental Rights in Education”, is already in force between kindergarten and third grade and has now been extended to all K-12, as the public education system up to secondary school is known.
The extension arose from a proposal by DeSantis, who with the help of the Republican majority in the Florida Congress is implementing a battery of ultra-conservative laws in areas such as reproductive rights, immigration and the possession and possession of weapons. .
Under the law, signed by the Republican governor in March 2022, parents will have the ability to file lawsuits against the school district and receive damages if they violate this provision.
The DeSantis administration presented the proposal last month as part of the conservative “aggressive agenda” before his planned candidacy for the 2024 elections to occupy the White House, Florida media reported today.
The proposal will take effect after a procedural notice period that lasts about a month, the Department of Education noted.
The Florida Campaign for Human Rights and Equality (Equality Florida) reacted by saying that “this policy will intensify the government censorship sweeping across our state, exacerbate our exodus of educators, drive working families out of Florida, and further stigmatize and isolate to a population of young people who need our support now more than ever.”
President Joe Biden once condemned this law as hateful to the LGBTQ+ community.
Likewise, Disney, which has its theme parks in Orlando and one of the state’s largest employers and political donors, opposed the measure.
The entertainment giant publicly opposed the legislation last year, and as punishment, DeSantis lobbied lawmakers to give him control of an autonomous district that Disney oversees on its theme park properties.
