WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Monday that his department will monitor Florida’s implementation of a controversial new education law that restricts classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity to determine whether it violates federal civil rights law.
Cardona’s statement hints at potential legal ramifications for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision Monday to sign the legislation, which critics have called the “don’t say gay” bill, into law. But it does not specify what actions the Biden administration could take in response.
“By signing this bill, Governor DeSantis has chosen to target some of Florida’s most vulnerable students and families, all while under the guise of ‘parents’ rights.’ Make no mistake: this is a part of a disturbing and dangerous trend across the country of legislation targeting LGBTQI+ students, educators, and individuals,” Cardona said in a statement Monday after DeSantis signed the bill into law.
“This comes at a time when we know lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning students are three to four times more likely than non-LGBTQI+ students to report experiencing persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and even self harm — not because of who they are but because of the hostility directed at them.”
The law signed by DeSantis prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade or “in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards,” a phrase that could limit instruction for older students as well.
Cardona’s statement comes after criticism of the Florida legislation from President Joe Biden last month on the grounds that it targets LGBTQ statements. It also follows a series of increasingly bitter policy disputes between Biden and DeSantis over an array of issues, including school district responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden administration officials have repeatedly connected the Florida legislation to a broader trend of state officials pursuing policies they say will marginalize LGBTQ youth, including Texas launching investigations into parents whose transgender children undergo gender-affirming treatments.
But DeSantis and other supporters of the Florida law have touted it as a way to protect the rights of parents.
“Parents have every right to be informed about services offered to their child at school, and should be protected from schools using classroom instruction to sexualize their kids as young as 5 years old,” DeSantis said in a statement Monday.
Cardona said that the Education Department “will be monitoring this law upon implementation to evaluate whether it violates federal civil rights law,” and noted that “any student who believes they are experiencing discrimination, including harassment, at school or any parent who is concerned that about their child experiencing discrimination can file a complaint with our Office for Civil Rights.”
The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights is the same entity that Biden tasked last year with investigating whether Florida and other states had violated immunocompromised students’ civil rights through policies restricting school districts from adopting mask mandates and other COVID-19 mitigation strategies.
Cardona, a former elementary school teacher and principal, served as Connecticut’s education commissioner prior to his appointment to lead the U.S. Department of Education last year.
During his confirmation hearing, several Republican senators focused their questions on gender identity, specifically the participation of transgender students in women’s sports programs.
He repeatedly said during those exchanges that his responsibility would be to protect the civil rights of all students, including transgender students.
———
