"And also requiring teachers to out students to their parents, that just really does not sit well with me because I have a lot of friends and I know a lot of kids in my own GSA that if they were in that situation, where their parents were contacted about who they are, it would be very dangerous for them both mentally and physically."Ī 2019 survey from The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) found that the school climate in Florida is "not safe" for most LGBTQ students as it is. they're trying to take a safe space away from children," she said. For many of her classmates, she said, the response to the bill is that of fear. She said the bill also incorrectly assumes that kids are able to openly have LGBTQ-centered discussions at home. "Having that really normalized it for me and made me not afraid to speak about who I am."
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"If I hadn't had that experience of having a really awesome accepting middle school experience, I definitely wouldn't be as vocal about who I am in my identity today," she said. Ocock, the president of her schools' Gay-Straight Alliance, said she first came out as lesbian when she was 11 years old, and that having support from her seventh grade English teacher at that time helped her become more vocal and open about her identity. "In a world that already shames LGBTQ people enough, children who are learning and developing who they are don't need any more of that stigma." "The bill is sending a message to LGBTQ youth that they have something to be ashamed about, that their identities are so taboo that they shouldn't even be talked about in classrooms," she told CBS News on Thursday. "We don't want them to be engines to be putting things like the CRT that we talked about, things that are divisive and are not accurate of course when you start talking about some of the stuff that they're teaching with it, and making sure that we're really focusing on the basics," he said.įor Delaney Ocock, a senior at Olympia High School in Orlando, the bill is an "unnecessary" barrier to LGBTQ students such as herself from having an essential support system at school. We need more civics."ĭeSantis said he doesn't think such conversations are "going on in large numbers," but that he wants "to make sure that our schools are really focusing on the basics." They need to teach them science, history. Schools need to be teaching kids to read, to write. Do all this other stuff.' They won't tell the parents about these discussions that are happening," DeSantis said. "We've seen instances of students being told by different folks in school, 'Oh, don't worry. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images If Florida legislators pass the bill, it would go into effect on July 1, with all school district plans having to be updated by June 30, 2023.įlorida Governor Ron DeSantis, who supports the bill, said at a roundtable in Miami on February 7 that he doesn't approve of "injecting these concepts about choosing your gender" at schools.
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In the Senate, the bill was passed by the education committee on February 8, and must be considered by two more Florida Senate committees, which could make changes, before it can be presented to the full chamber.