Florida teachers respond to “Don’t Say Gay” legislation

Florida recently passed a law that now makes it illegal for teachers of kindergarten through third graders to talk about sexual orientation and gender identity. While several LGBTQ advocacy groups have filed a federal lawsuit against Florida to fight the legislation, a teacher in Florida has decided to take on the law themselves. They penned a letter to parents in Florida outlining what they are now planning to do in the classroom in light of the new “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. 

The teacher from Palm Beach County said, “I will no longer be referring to your student with gendered pronouns. All students will be referred to as “they” or “them”. I will no longer be using any titles such as “Mr” or “Mrs” or make any references to my husband/wife in the classroom. From now on I will be using the non-gendered title of “Mx”. 

The letter goes on to say that all books that outline gender identities and gender roles, including those with mothers and fathers depicted in them will be removed from their classroom, as these are also gender identities. While the legislation was intended to remove representation of anything other than cisgender heterosexuality from the classroom, this teacher’s letter to parents clearly suggests that cisgendered heterosexuality is also a gender identity and a sexual orientation and therefore, has no place in the classroom now either. 

A parent advocacy group in Florida, Moms4Liberty spoke out against the teachers actions and called on all parents to take a stand against these actions. However, social media stood up to the advocacy group and called out their hypocrisy, stating that heterosexuality is a sexual orientation, and according to the new legislation being rolled out in Florida, makes it illegal for teachers to discuss anything in those terms. 

And they are not wrong. 

Nowhere in the legislation do the guidelines say that teachers cannot discuss homosexuality. The regulations now clearly say that teachers cannot discuss sexual orientation and gender identity. So, while it is clear that the creators of the new bill were attempting to erase discussion of queer and trans identities from the classroom, they shot themselves in the foot with their wording. 

Stay tuned for more updates on the federal lawsuit filed against Florida and check out the controversial letter penned to parents below.