A proposed amendment to the already controversial Parental Rights in Education bill requiring parental involvement on sensitive student issues has drawn more criticism from LGBTQ advocates.
The sponsor of the bill, Republican Representative Joe Harding, introduced an amendment on Friday which would require school officials to facilitate a meeting between a student and parents to disclose child-specific information.
The amendment states that the “school principal or his or her designee shall develop a plan, using all available governmental resources, to disclose such information within six weeks after the decision to withhold such information from the parent.”
The six-week provision gives school officials a time frame to decide if a student is facing unsupportive or abusive parents related to specific issues. If there is a determination by school officials that a student could be in danger from the parents, the amendment details a course of action.
The amendment provides that the “plan must facilitate disclosure between the student and parent through an open dialogue in a safe, supportive, and judgment-free environment that respects the parent-child relationship and protects the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of the student.”
The original bill required only that school district personnel encourage a student to discuss issues relating to his or her well-being with his or her parents without a specified time frame.
LGBTQ advocates – who have labeled the parental rights proposal the “Don’t Say Gay” bill – were quick to criticize the requirement of parental involvement.
Florida Representative Carlos Smith (D – Orlando) tweeted, “An amendment was just filed by the sponsor of #DontSayGay to make it even more dangerous for vulnerable kids with a STATE-MANDATED outing of LGBTQ students to parents, specifically in cases of abuse, abandonment + neglect. This will have devastating consequences for our youth..”
An amendment was just filed by the sponsor of #DontSayGay to make it even more dangerous for vulnerable kids with a STATE-MANDATED outing of LGBTQ students to parents, specifically in cases of abuse, abandonment + neglect.
This will have devastating consequences for our youth.😢 pic.twitter.com/3s89rcMrMN
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) February 20, 2022
Most of the criticism of the parental rights bill from LGBTQ advocates has been related to the provisions that limit gender/sexuality discussions to age-appropriate students. In fact, LGBTQ advocates have refused to answer questions about the parental rights provisions in the bill submitted by The Florida Capital Star.
An amendment was recently adopted to give precise definition to the age-appropriate language. The new language would ban classroom “instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity” for students in kindergarten through 3rd grade, or “in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
After the House Judiciary Committee approved a committee substitute of the legislation (HB 1557) in a 13-7 party-line vote, the bill is now headed to the House Floor.
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Steve Stewart is a senior contributor at The Florida Capital Star. Email tips to [email protected].
