HB177, otherwise known as the Parental Rights in Education bill or the “Don’t Say Gay,” bill, was passed by Florida legislature on March 8. The bill imposes strict limitations on the discussion of gender and sexual orientation within the classroom and requires teachers to inform parents if their child identifies as  LGBT+ within six weeks of knowing. If passed, it would come into effect on July 1. 

The bill had faced fierce opposition, with their primary argument being the harm the bill would inflict on the lives of LGBT+ youth in school by increasing stigmatization and involuntarily outing students to their families should they confide in a teacher. Compared to their cisgender, heterosexual peers, LGBT+ youth already face significantly higher rates of bullying, depression and suicide. For example, according to figures by the Human Rights Campaign, 43% of transgender youth have been bullied in school compared to only 18% of cisgender youth. Moreover, the data shows the rates of bullying and threatening of LGBT+ students have risen since 2017, alongside attempted suicide rates. However, the Trevor Project, an LGBT+ youth activist organization, reports that LGBT+ students in schools that educate about LGBT+ issues and people are 23% less likely to attempt suicide. One member of the opposition, Republican Florida Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith, stated that “We are in distress because this bill is yet another attack on our community. This bill goes way beyond the text on its page. It sends a terrible message to our youth that there is something so wrong, so inappropriate, so dangerous about this topic that we have to censor it from classroom instruction.” Others argue that the vagueness of the bill may actually make it unconstitutional. HB177 prohibits discussion of gender and sexuality when it is “not age appropriate,” without defining what is or is not considered appropriate. This ambiguity has precedent to be struck down by the Supreme Court: in the 1967 case Keyishian v. Board of Regents, New York laws trying to prohibit communists or other “subversives” from becoming teachers were struck down after realizing that the wording of the laws were so vague, they may be interpreted to mean teachers could not teach about the Declaration of Independence. If passed, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill would be enacted a full year before the Department of Education is required to update its standards on how to uphold the bill, forcing teachers to “fly blind” for a year without guidance. However, it is uncertain if this alone is a way to challenge the bill. 

On the other hand, proponents of the bill, such as Florida Representative Joe Harding, say this bill was designed to “empower parents” by informing them on their children’s lives in the classroom and to improve the quality of life for children in Florida. He also claims the purpose of HB177 is the creation of boundaries in order to have schools educate about gender and sexuality at an appropriate age; HB177 would prohibit the discussion of gender and sexuality in schools from kindergarten to third grade, or in any way that is “not age appropriate.” In response to opposition, Harding has also emphasized that students with LGBT+ families would not be prohibited from talking about their relatives, and that LGBT+ history would not be censored, even though the broad wording of the proposed bill leaves opportunity for lawsuits seeking to minimize discussion of queer topics within schools beyond the specified scope. 

When the bill passed successfully through Florida’s House of Representatives with a 67-47 vote, it still faced severe condemnation, including that of seven Republican representatives who voted against their party by opposing the bill. President Joe Biden has also publicly denounced HB177, stating, “I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are. I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve.”

Despite opposition from the public to the Oval Office, the Florida Senate was undeterred, and the bill passed with the support of all but two GOP state senators. With approval by both the House and the Senate, the bill will advance to the Florida governor’s office, where Governor Ron DeSantis must make the decision whether or not to sign it—and all signs indicate he will. He has repeatedly stated his support of the Parental Rights in Education Bill, commenting, “We’re going to make sure that parents are able to send their kid to kindergarten without having some of this stuff injected into their school curriculum.” Democrats, students, families and activists alike have all expressed alarm at the bill’s passage, and the potential it has to further LGBT+ erasure within educational spaces while alienating LGBT+ youth. What will emerge from this controversial law is uncertain, but what is certain is the fear and anxiety expressed by youth both in and out of Florida at the precedent this may set for the discussion (or prohibition thereof) of LGBT+ topics not just in Florida, but across the country should the law be upheld.