TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It passed through The House Judiciary Committee along party lines — a bill that would ban discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
This bill is heading for debate and a full House vote next week. It is definitely one of the most controversial bills and a part of a culture class in this session in Tallahassee. This just another part of the culture clash here this session.
House Bill 1557, dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, does go to the full House vote though with a slight change.
The bill intends to limit discussions from kindergarten through 3rd grade.
State Representative Joe Harding (R-Ocala) who sponsored Bill 104-108.
“It just says we don’t talk about these things until kids are out of third grade. That’s all it says,” said the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Joe Harding, (R-Williston).
And with the familiar party divide in the House, Rep. Michael Grieco (D-Miami Beach) said: “Ignorance is cured with education.”
This time, the Parents Rights Bill, the one opponents are calling “Don’t Say Gay,” emerges with a slight change with big implications.
While the original text said “School districts may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels,” it’s now changed to actual “classroom curriculum.”
The aim of the bill, say sponsors, is to ensure that parents are always clued into schools’ actions with their children and it will give them the power to sue.
Rep. Fentrice Driscoll (D-Hillsborough) said: “How do you expect schools to pay for lawsuits?”
Harding had an answer to that question. “If a school is working with parents and providing information, we won’t have this issue.”
Despite the change of words, the culture clash remains.
Kerry Gaudio, who opposes the bill, said: “Our families are already vulnerable to bullying and violence without elected officials advancing legislation that targets and attacks us.”
This is one of those bills destined to pass both houses and go to the governor’s desk by all accounts. It is also one that will be debated until the very end.
(Read House Bill 1577 below)