| As Florida school districts grapple with the state's new law governing how to teach about gender identity and sexual orientation, officials are implementing rules they hope will comply. In Sarasota County, teachers now must get parent permission if a child asks to use a different name and pronouns. All districts got an alert from the state on Sept. 9 to ensure parents get details about overnight field trips, including whether room assignments for overnight lodging are not separated by biological sex at birth. The Pasco County school district banned all "safe space" stickers from school properties, saying students and teachers should not be under any impression that their conversations might be confidential. That decision generated a furious pushback, including accusations that the district went beyond the law.
— Jeffrey S. Solochek, jsolochek@tampabay.com |
| What does Florida's 'parental rights in education' law say about safe space stickers? |
| Confronted by upset students, teachers, parents and supporters of the LGBTQ community about the sticker ban, superintendent Kurt Browning defended his decision as based on the law that took effect July 1. "This district has no choice – has no choice – because the law says under the parent bill of rights that there are no such things as safe spaces as we are defining safe spaces," Browning told the crowd, which spilled into an overflow room. "Teachers are not permitted to have private personal conversations with students any longer." The legislation does not include the term "safe space" or the word "sticker" anywhere in its seven pages. It does have a section on "student welfare," which states that a school system may not adopt procedures or forms that prohibit employees from informing parents about their children's "mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being, or a change in related services or monitoring, or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such information."
In Browning's view, that covers the stickers, which he suggested convey a message that what is said in the "safe space" might be private. "It is not a safe space," he said, telling critics to take the issue up with lawmakers. "The law has seen to that."
Several attending the board's Monday meeting didn't buy it.
Yes, they acknowledged, the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis had created a chilling atmosphere when it comes to LGBTQ and other marginalized youth. But no, they said, the law didn't force schools to remove the stickers that give many children a sense of belonging and support. "This is not what the law says," Pasco eSchool teacher Cascade Dusel told the board, calling the directive "morally and ethically wrong." She and others noted that, in addition to not referring to stickers, the law also does not speak to conversations between students and teachers. Rather, they said, it talks about school lessons, pointing to the section that reads: "Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards." During debate on the measure, lawmakers repeatedly stated that they did not expect to stop discussions that might occur naturally. "Conversations are going to happen," sponsor Rep. Joe Harding said at one point. He specifically removed references to "discussion" within the bill, though some observers weren't convinced the intent had changed. Even so, at the Pasco board meeting, LGBTQ advocates and allies urged the district to take the law at face value. Perhaps, parent Alicia Zilay said, the district could still take the less onerous step of leaving the safe space stickers and signs in place, while reminding employees they do not alleviate the requirement to report changes in children's status to parents. For in the end, Land O'Lakes High student Sydney Crenshaw said, the stickers are not part of any legislation, but they do reinforce to some students that there's a place to feel welcome. "How does removing the one visible symbol of the LGBTQ youth benefit my community?" Crenshaw asked, urging the district to acknowledge the county's diversity. So far, the district has not changed its stance. |
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