ABOVE: The Miami-Dade School Board’s Sept. 7 meeting. Screenshot via Facebook.
MIAMI (AP) | The Miami-Dade School Board overwhelming decided against recognizing October as LGBTQ History Month, which included a measure to teach 12th graders about two Supreme Court cases affecting the LGBTQ community.
Parents, teachers and students spoke for more than three hours Sept. 7, with one group citing indoctrination of students and the other speaking about how Nazis ostracized gays and lesbians with a pink triangle. The board then voted 8-1 against the measure, which was proffered by board member Lucia Baez Geller.
Outside the school board’s headquarters, where people waited to speak during the meeting, a group of Proud Boys got into a loud argument with someone hoisting a trans flag, the Miami Herald reported.
“There is an election year and the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is a tool used by some to spread misinformation,” Baez Geller said. “This is just plain disinformation.”
She told the newspaper the measure “is mostly to recognize the dignity and the respect for each other.” She also noted that seniors could opt out of learning about the two Supreme Court cases – Obergefell v. Hodges, which recognizes same-sex marriage, and Bostock v. Clayton County, which says an employer can’t fire someone for being gay or transgender.
Throughout the year, other months are recognized to teach students about history, including Hispanic Heritage, Black history and women’s history. October is National LGBTQ History Month.
Last year, the school board recognized LGBTQ History Month, but did not include the provision to add the two Supreme Court cases.
School Board member Christ Fraga, who was the lone opponent of recognizing LGBTQ History month last year, said she thinks “endorsing and putting it out as something that everyone has to participate in does start to cross a line of imposition onto family values.“
Among those who opposed the measure, some said it went against their religious beliefs while others said the board was abiding in the indoctrination and sexual abuse of children. Some falsely claimed the measure would adopt new curriculum for students to learn about LGBTQ+ issues without parental consent.
Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis championed a law that bans lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, which critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill.
The governor also got involved in campaigning for school board races this year, endorsing two candidates in Miami-Dade who won races for seats on the already conservative board last week. Those candidates do not take office until November.
Max Tover, a pastor and parent in the district, led those outside in a prayer, asking that the board members reject the motion. He told the Herald that passing the measure is “a Trojan Horse.”
Maxx Fenning, president and founder of the nonprofit PRISM FL, which provides sexual health information to LGBTQ+ youth, likened opposition to the measure to how Nazis ostracized gay people by making them wear a pink triangle badge to reflect their sexual orientation.
Equality Florida also responded to the school board.
“Tonight’s vote is one more proof point of the sweeping chilling effect of Florida’s discriminatory Don’t Say LGBTQ law and the toxic anti-LGBTQ environment being fostered by Governor DeSantis,” Equality Florida Senior Political Director Joe Saunders said. “The Don’t Say LGBTQ law is rooted in the same dangerous tropes about LGBTQ people and baseless attacks on teachers that were on full display in public comments at last night’s hearing.
“We are shocked and alarmed to see this reversal from the Miami Dade School Board,” he continued. “This is a horrible signal to send to the thousands of LGBTQ youth in Miami-Dade County public schools. Voting down this simple recognition of our LGBTQ community makes our schools less safe.”
The final vote came around 9:45 p.m. Sept. 7, after the board took a one-hour break to hear discussion about the district’s budget. Some still in the audience cheered as others sat silently.
View the meeting below via Facebook:
The Miami-Dade public school system is the nation’s fourth largest, with 331,500 students. Learn more about Equality Florida’s work for LGBTQ civil rights in and outside of schools at EQFL.org.
