By Mecca Fowler
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed here are those of the authors. View more opinion on ScoonTV.
Recently, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed his support for a measure that would make it illegal to address sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida’s elementary schools.
According to the bill, H.B. 1557: Parental Rights in Education, school boards will notify parents of certain information to reinforce the right of parents to make decisions regarding upbringing of their children. The highly controversial bill is in the Florida Judiciary Committee as of Jan. 25.
“We’ve seen instances of students being told by different folks in school, ‘Oh, don’t worry. Don’t pick your gender yet. Do all this other stuff.’ They won’t tell the parents about these discussions that are happening,” DeSantis said at a press conference, according to CBS News. “That is entirely inappropriate. Schools need to be teaching kids to read, to write. They need to teach them science, history. We need more civics.”
State Rep. Joe Harding, the Republican who presented the bill, stated during a committee meeting that the proposal would not prevent kids from discussing their gender orientations. Instead, it’s meant to stop a district from integrating such topics into school curriculum.
He went on to say instructors wouldn’t be barred from teaching LGBTQ history, including the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.
Many of the LGBTQ critics of the bill have called it the “Don’t Say Gay Bill.” They argue the bill could have harmful effects on LGBTQ youth. The bill has gained national attention with President Joe Biden condemning it as “hateful.”
A statement from the White House read, “Every parent hopes that our leaders will ensure their children’s safety, protection, and freedom. Today, conservative politicians in Florida rejected those basic values by advancing legislation that is designed to target and attack the kids who need support the most – LGBTQI+ students, who are already vulnerable to bullying and violence just for being themselves.”
On the surface, the bill may be potentially harmful. However, we’ve seen numerous examples of so-called LGBTQ teachers and professors go out of their way to discuss their lifestyle with their students. Simply put, it can be cringe and inappropriate when done in excess.
During the pandemic lockdown, many parents looked close at the curriculum their children were learning. Many were working remotely while their children learned remotely, so it offered them a perspective they may not have seen otherwise. This led to a movement of parents taking their concerns to school board meetings across the nation.
The teachers start by planting a seed into the minds of their children. Although teachers discussing gender and sexuality with students seems innocent overall, the conversation can quickly get carried away. Teachers may project their beliefs without considering the feelings or faith of parents. In short, it comes off as indoctrination.
The problem is that is not what school is about. Why is a math teacher or history teacher not simply teaching their assigned subjects and leaving it at that?
On many occasions, teachers told their students not to tell their parents about their gender identity. Many of these teachers feel that they are some sort of “savior” or “safe space” for these kids when they’re slowly coaxing them to believe they’re something they’re not.
In a few such extreme cases, this type of coercing children into the LGBTQ community has led to students feeling confused, isolated, or trying to harm themselves. For example, a Florida father alleged that his 12-year-old daughter attempted suicide twice after her school encouraged others to call her a boy and give her a new name. Parents were never notified about these changes. After finding out, the father took legal action against the school.
“The counselor had secret meetings with our daughter about gender. She was groomed to something that she’s not, and she was encouraged,” the man told Fox News.
In another case, after filing a complaint against them and school district authorities, a California mother called her daughter’s instructors “predatory” and “disgusting,” according to the New York Post. She claimed that two teachers indoctrinated her daughter to surreptitiously alter her gender. This was done under the district’s “Parental Secret Policy” which allows teachers to counsel students about their gender confusion and assert a new gender identity without notifying parents.
In another incident, Minnesota fourth graders were told not to tell their parents about an “equity survey” on race and gender. The students were reportedly left confused and uneasy about the situation.
These are just a few examples. Schools have become a breeding ground for this rhetoric to flourish.
In Loudon County, a book called “Gender Queer: A Memoir” was pulled from the school district because it had illustrations that were deemed inappropriate. Some may even consider the illustrations to be pedophilic.
Overall, DeSantis’s bill should reverberate across the nation. Some states have already implemented similar measures to increase transparency about what students learn in school. It’s a positive thing, not a negative bash on the LGBTQ community. According to GLSEN, a nonprofit organization that works for LGBTQ children, four states — Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mississippi — have rules comparable to the proposed Florida legislation. Three states — Arkansas, Tennessee, and Montana — approved measures last year allowing parents to opt their children out of any sexual orientation or gender identity-related courses.
If these teachers had nothing to hide, they would have no issues with parents being more hands-on in their children’s education. It seems the outrage comes as these policies threaten to loosen the teachers’ grip on the psyche of children.
Parents have a fundamental right to know what their children are learning and a right to determine what is appropriate at varying ages. There should be no debate about that. Any teacher against that should be reevaluated to understand their true motives.
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