ABOVE: Gov. Ron DeSantis. Photo via DeSantis’ Facebook.
ORLANDO | Orange County teachers are expressing concerns about Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education,” the law more widely known as “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” set to take effect July 1.
The law will restrict discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom. DeSantis signed the bill into law in March.
“I am not not going to be there for my students,” Ladara Royal, an Orange County Public Schools dean, told WESH 2 News. “This puts a limitation to how we can keep our students safe and not just physically safe but mentally safe.”
According to the Orange County teachers union, teachers fear that conversations surrounding any LGBTQ or race-related subjects are to be completely restricted.
“Teachers were hearing that they won’t be allowed to wear clothing that was rainbow colored or rainbow lanyards or they won’t be able to wear Black Lives Matter shirts,” said Wendy Doromal with the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association.
According to the reports, Orange County school district’s legal department has cautioned them to “not to wear clothing that may elicit discussions that could be deemed classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Teachers will need to remove stickers designating their classrooms as “Safe Spaces” for LGBTQ students, will have to report to parents if a student “comes out” to them and will have to refer to students using their assigned pronouns at birth, regardless of what their parents allow, the CTA reported.
