'Don't Say Gay' Law

An NPR analysis finds that over the past two years, state lawmakers introduced more than 300 bills targeting trans people. Most of this legislation, 86%, takes aim at the rights of trans youth.

Teachers and administrators, already facing long hours and low pay, now find themselves under pressure from politicians, parents and even their own school districts.

Students, parents, and teachers have filed a revised lawsuit seeking to block a new Florida law that restricts classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The lawsuit in Orlando named as defendants several central Florida school boards charged with implementing the law, which critics have dubbed "Don't Say Gay."

If the bill were to become law, it could affect not only schools but also programs, events and literature at any federally funded institution. But its prospects are dim for now.

Some characterized it as a way to provide transparency and others say it is potentially harmful to LGBTQ students.

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.