Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law’s Uneven Implementation Sparks LGBTQ Community Concern

Since Florida passed the Parental Rights in Education Act, or as it is more commonly known, the “Don’t Say Gay” law, there have been questions about how exactly the state intends to enforce the law. With the law finally going into effect, some of those questions are finally being answered, and in an unsurprising turn of events, the implementation of the law is chaotic and concerning to its critics.

A seminar by Orange County Public Schools was designed to guide administrators through relevant changes in the law; however, neither the state nor district had offered guidance for what the “Don’t Say Gay” law would mean for educators in the classroom. The seminar was quickly derailed by administrators asking a series of hypotheticals regarding what would be allowed in classrooms. Rainbow clothing? Safe Space stickers? A photo with a same-gender partner? By the end of the seminar, it was clear the answer to everything was no.

The district’s general counsel sent an email in an attempt to push back against teachers’ alarm, and further cautioned elementary school teachers to avoid displaying or wearing any item that could invite conversations that would violate the law.

Orange County is not the only district scrambling in the wake of Don’t Say Gay going into effect: educators across the state maintain that the Florida Department of Education have yet to receive specific guidance about the law. As summer school is already underway in Florida, this has led to schools attempting to implement a law that they don’t fully understand giving teachers concerned about their job security and the safety of their students.

As critics of the bill have stated many times, the legislation is focused on trying to solve a problem that just doesn’t exist. Conservative lawmakers passed the law in the interest of preventing children in K-3 from being ‘indoctrinated’ into the LGBTQ lifestyle; however, by Florida’s curriculum, education about sex, sexuality, and gender is not had until fifth grade at the earliest, and even then it is simply a discussion about the changes students may be experiencing from puberty.

This idea also sexualizes the community, acting as if any conversation around LGBTQ gender, identity, historical events, and figures isn’t appropriate for children. It bears repeating that children are incessantly exposed to, and taught about, gender and identity from a cisgender, heterosexual lens.

In a desperate attempt to solve a nonexistent problem, Florida’s lawmakers have created a series of wide-reaching conflicts which threaten the safety of Florida’s LGBTQ community. This is especially concerning as Florida has faced rising cases of suicide compared to the rest of the country, and mental health officials in the state have acknowledged that LGBTQ youth face higher rates of mental health challenges and suicidal thoughts.