By now, most Floridians get it: The DeSantis administration is obsessed with targeting the LGBTQ community in Florida dishonestly, irrationally and repetitively across multiple venues.
The latest salvos will be fired on Wednesday, when the state Board of Education takes up a group of proposals that would once again drag Florida educators down the path of persecution. Sooner or later, local school boards — who are elected by, and accountable to, the voters of each county — must start pushing back against this ridiculous, ongoing assault.
The policies up for adoption at Wednesday’s meeting could be a good place to start — assuming they pass, which they likely will. “They’re just continuing the fear mongering from session,” says Jon Harris Maurer, public policy director for Equality Florida, describing 2023 legislative changes that fall squarely into the more-of-the-same-homophobic-nonsense category.
Among the rules set for discussion:
-- An expansion of the rules intended to force students to use bathrooms associated with their gender determination at birth. This is an offshoot of 2023’s ridiculous “potty purity” law (HB 1521) that attempts to keep transgender individuals out of bathrooms that correspond with their identity across multiple venues, including private businesses and government buildings. Lawmakers have consistently ignored the fact that by determining gender through at-birth assignment, the law is all but guaranteed to generate more uneasiness because it forces individuals to use restroom facilities that don’t match with their current appearance or names. Yet lawmakers seem intent on forcing these uncomfortable confrontations, and have combined the bathroom provision with another rule that threatens the licensure status of teachers who violate it. Yet in most polls taken over the past 10 years, fewer than 40% of voters think that bathroom use by transgender people should be so illogically dictated.
-- A provision that would extend the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” provisions to middle schools. Remember when DeSantis’ then-communications director put extensive effort into convincing Floridians that the prohibition on classroom discussion of gender and sexual protection was to protect very young children from too much sexy talk — which she used as cover for the ugly contention that anyone who lined up against that legislation was a “groomer?” Well, this rips that argument to shreds: Middle-school-aged children are certainly aware that same-sex relationships exist. Yet this rule also threatens teachers with misconduct charges for talking too much about that reality.
-- A new rule that seems to be aimed at “protecting” students from unexpected exposure to drag queens at any school-sponsored event or activity, because that’s something that apparently happens all the time. (Or not.) The rule is written so broadly and confusingly that it could apply to many situations that most people would describe as harmless, including performances of Shakespeare plays, showing of the Disney film “Mulan” or a review of some religious texts.
-- Finally, a rule that punishes teachers that talk too much about preferred pronouns, which could make life difficult for English teachers.
We say these measures are likely to pass, because the Board of Education is currently acting as the public-school arm of DeSantis’ political committee. Still, we laud the organization of human-rights groups including Equality Florida, who intend to mobilize for Wednesday’s meeting (scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort on Universal Boulevard in Orlando).
Their continued vocal opposition provides an ongoing reminder that, no matter how many times DeSantis and his supporters attack, this will never be something that passes without comment — and that it runs counter to the sentiments of the vast majority of the American people, who have long ago adopted a live-and-let-live approach to gender identity and sexual orientation. In an August 2022 Quinnipiac University poll, fewer than one in four Americans still opposed same-sex marriage. Support for civil-rights protections for LGBTQ people are almost as strong.
We hope, however, that local school officials are also paying attention. Unlike DeSantis’ supporters, who largely hold themselves aloof from the sentiments of Florida voters, they have to face their supporters. Even in the most conservative counties, many school board members are starting to express anguish over the pain they’re being forced to inflict. A widespread rebellion against these cruel and illogical policies might bring retaliation, since DeSantis has become increasingly fond of removing anyone from public office who dares to disagree with him.
But it would be a noble sacrifice. Florida needs more public officials to find the courage to stand up to Florida’s self-designated emperor and say “Governor, for someone so focused on ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ you sure seem to bring it up a lot. Find someone else to execute your politicized cruelty. We’re done.”
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The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at insight@orlandosentinel.com
