Thread by @ryanthoreson

Because #Florida officials are once again spreading misinformation about the #DontSayGay bill, I want to once again lay out what it does and doesn't actually say. (You can see the text and history of the legislation for yourself here: flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2….)

First of all, K-3 students are not learning sex ed in Florida schools. They are occasionally learning that some kids have two dads or two moms, though, and that's what's setting off conservative supporters of the bill.

Conservatives call it a sex ed bill but it doesn't actually address instruction on sexual activity. It prohibits instruction on *sexual orientation and gender identity,* singling out some families and kids as off-limits for school discussion.

You can see the actual intent in the refusal to amend and fix the bill. Rep. Carlos Smith (D) in fact proposed an amendment that would prohibit discussion of sexual activity, rather than sexual orientation or gender identity. It failed.

Sen. Jeff Brandes (R) proposed an amendment to make it about human sexuality more broadly. It failed.

Sen. Lauren Book (D) proposed an amendment to clarify that discussing same-sex families, history, bullying, questions asked by students, etc. would be permitted. It failed.

Sen. Randolph Bracy (D) and Rep. Woodson (D) proposed amendments to clarify that conversations among LGBT students would be permitted. Those amendments were rejected.

Sen. Tina Polsky (D) proposed an amendment clarifying that sexual orientation and gender identity include heterosexuality and cisgender identity – that was rejected.

No opponent of the bill sought to expand sex ed to K-3 students - they sought to ensure that LGBT people and families could still be discussed and not erased, and for some reason they were voted down by the conservative majority every time.

In fact, opponents of the bill *tried* to amend it so it would instead prohibit discussions of sexual activity in K-3 grades, and for some reason that nobody can explain to me, the proponents of the bill voted that down.

A second misconception is that this is just about K-3 grades; the bill also prohibits those discussions in older grades if the state deems those conversations not "age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

Why am I skeptical that LGBT kids would get the info they need? Because Florida sex ed law *already* stacks the deck against LGBT kids, requiring instructors in HIV/AIDS education to specifically encourage heterosexual marriage.

(Relatedly, Sen. Gary Farmer (D) offered an amendment to make this part of Florida sex ed law inclusive of all marriages - LGBT people have a constitutional right to marry, after all - but, as you might have guessed, proponents of the bill shot that down.)

You can see in that provision that Florida sex ed law *already* requires that instruction must be "appropriate for the grade and age of the student." The only point of this additional legislation is to prevent discussions of LGBT people and families.

Third, the bill requires parental consent to health care services and parental notification of changes to student health and well being, unless there's concern about abuse, abandonment or neglect. There's misunderstanding around this provision too.

I think most people recognize the complexity of this - ideally parents are supportive and involved, but the reality is that confidential resources and support in schools are critically important for kids, including some LGBT kids, who may have difficult home lives.

And as important as the abuse, abandonment, and neglect provision is, the fact is that teachers may not know students' lives well enough to know what kind of backlash or violence they're going to face if they're outed without their consent.

Again, opponents of the bill sought to address these concerns but were met with resistance. Rep. Angie Nixon (D) proposed an amendment to ensure students were not outed without their consent – that was rejected.

Sen. Lori Berman (D) and Rep. Anna Eskamani (D) proposed amendments for the state Dept. of Education to work with @PFLAG and @GLSEN to create a pamphlet to help parents have these conversations with their kids and give them organizations who can help – those were rejected.

Sen. Janet Cruz (D) and Rep. Kristen Arrington proposed amendments for schools to provide a safe environment regardless of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability – those were rejected.

I'll stop there, but there are very good reasons to oppose #DontSayGay. We know why bills like this are introduced in the absence of actual problems, and it's telling that proponents resisted every effort to make classrooms more inclusive and keep LGBT kids safe.