The Parental Rights in Education Act (HB 1557), commonly referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" law, is a Florida statute passed in 2022 that regulates public schools in Florida. The law is most notable for prohibiting public schools from having "classroom discussion", or giving "classroom instruction", about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through third grade or in a manner deemed to be against state standards in all grades. It also requires that schools disclose to parents if their children have received mental health services via the school.

The legislation was introduced in the Florida House of Representatives by Representatives Joe Harding and Dennis Baxley, and passed the chamber with 68 Republicans and 1 Democrat (James Bush III) voting for it, and 40 Democrats and 7 Republicans voting against it. The Florida Senate passed the bill with 22 Republicans voting for it, and 15 Democrats and 2 Republicans voting against it. Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill on March 28, 2022, and the act went into effect on July 1 of that year as part of Florida Statute §1001.42. Its passage has prompted the introduction of various similar laws within other states and the federal government, and Florida legislators have introduced bills expanding the scope of the law. The Florida Board of Education later expanded the ban on teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity to all grades K-12 in April 2023, with the exception of health or reproductive courses.

The bill received support from Republican politicians and conservative organizations. The bill also received widespread backlash, especially from students, who demonstrated against the act throughout Florida by holding walkouts across middle and high schools.Vibrate of walkouts: Additional organizations who have issued statements against the act include those representing teachers, pediatricians, psychologists, and hundreds of major corporations. The Walt Disney Company opposed the legislation after protests by its employees, leading to a feud between Disney and DeSantis that culminated in the renaming of the Reedy Creek Improvement District and transfer of the power to appoint its board from Disney to the governor of Florida. Conflicting polls have shown public support or public opposition to the act, with support being higher among older generations and opposition being higher among younger generations.Polls:

Multiple lawsuits were filed against the act with the support of advocacy groups representing parents and families of LGBT+ children.Multiple sources: In March 2024 the groups settled with the state, which clarified that the law only restricts the direct teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms, while the law allows books and discussions about the LGBT community and LGBT rights between students and teachers.

Etymology The act is officially titled the Parental Rights in Education Act and is described as "An act relating to parental rights in education" in the act itself. It is more commonly known as Don't Say Gay, as it has been described in headlines by the prominent news agency, the Associated Press; prominent domestic newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times; prominent domestic news media including ABC, CNN, and Fox News affiliates; and prominent news media in other Anglosphere countries including ABC (Australia), the BBC, and CBC.

It is also known as Don't Say Gay or Trans, as it has been described in statements by the main nationwide organization for LGBT rights in the United States, the Human Rights Campaign; the main statewide organization for LGBT rights in Florida, Equality Florida; and the United Nations official for LGBT rights at the United Nations, the United Nations Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Provisions The Parental Rights in Education Act does not contain the term "gay", although the terms "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" are both referred to twice within the legislation. The legislative provisions on prohibiting education on sexual orientation or gender identity restrict classroom discussion or classroom instruction instigated by third parties and school personnel, such as teachers and principals. Classroom discussion or classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited from kindergarten to third grade, and can be restricted from 4th to 12th grade to what the state deems to be either "age appropriate" or "developmentally appropriate". The bill additionally requires schools to disclose to parents whether a child has received mental health services through the school. The legislation phrases the provision as parents not being able to be "blocked" by the school from accessing related documents. The legislation enables parents to file legal challenges against school teachings they have personal objections to. Moreover, all lawsuits filed against schools by parents under the act must be paid for by the sued school or district.

Debate Support

Politicians

The most prominent supporters of the act are several Republicans in Florida: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed the bill; Florida Senator Dennis Baxley, who filed the bill in the Florida Senate; former Florida Representative Joe Harding, who filed the bill in the Florida House of Representatives; Christina Pushaw, who served as press secretary to DeSantis at the time of the passage of the bill; and Florida Senator Ileana Garcia, who gave a controversial speech in support of the bill. DeSantis said that education for children about gender identity "is trying to sow doubt in kids about their gender identity" and that such education is "trying to say that they can be whatever they want to be".

Baxley rhetorically asked, "Why is everybody now all about coming out when you're at school?" and said that there are "kids trying on different kinds of things they hear about and different kinds of identities and experimenting. That's what kids do." Garcia said that "gay is not a permanent thing, LGBT is not a permanent thing", a statement directly contrary to scientific evidence that sexual orientation and gender identity are not choices and cannot be changed. Garcia later apologized.

Pushaw said that "The bill that liberals inaccurately call 'Don't Say Gay' would be more accurately described as an Anti-Grooming Bill", and said that "If you're against the Anti-Grooming bill, you are probably a groomer or at least you don't denounce the grooming of 4–8-year-old children", reflecting the anti-LGBT conspiracy theory that people who educate children about the LGBT community, LGBT history, LGBT rights, and same-sex marriage are practicing a form of child grooming, contrary to scientific research by experts in child development and psychology that indicate that the aforementioned education has a positive effect on children.

The law attracted statements of support from many of the state's representatives in the federal government and figures outside of Florida state politics. Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat and representative from Hawaii, argued that the act should go further and cover not only kindergarten through to third grade, but all grades through to twelfth grade. Former president Donald Trump agreed with DeSantis signing the bill, calling it "a good move" in an interview with The Washington Post, though he reportedly declined to elaborate. Ten Republican members of the US House of Representatives from Florida joined Senator Marco Rubio in saying that the act helped to keep classes age appropriate, believing that kids as young as five should not have to worry about their gender identity.

Organizations and other individuals The Florida state chapter of the conservative advocacy group Moms for Liberty supported the act as an advancement of their wishes to increase parental rights over schools. The Pinellas County subchapter's president, Angela Dubach, has called for the law to be expanded to include middle schools up to eighth grade as well. The National Review also came out in support, releasing an op-ed written by Madeline Kearns. In her editorial, Kearns claims that parental access to school medical and behavioral records on their respective children is "a no-brainer", terminology she used to also describe the prohibition on parents being restricted access from "critical decisions affecting a student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being".

Opposition Students have been among the most prominently visible demonstrators against the act. Additional organizations which have notably supported lawsuits against the act or issued statements condemning the legislation include Family Equality Council, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the Florida Education Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the Human Rights Campaign, Equality Florida, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations Human Rights Council through United Nations Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the American Bar Association, and 296 major businesses, including, most notably and most prominently, The Walt Disney Company.

Students

Massive walkouts were carried out by students in middle schools and high schools across Florida and throughout the United States in opposition to what they described as the Don't Say Gay bill, with large crowds of middle schoolers and high schoolers chanting "We Say Gay", "Gay Lives Matter", "We Fight For Gay Rights", and "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Homophobes Have Got To Go" in response.Protests in Florida:

Protests elsewhere: Washington state: Virginia: California:

Human rights groups Some organizations have argued that the act is unconstitutional. The Family Equality Council stated that the act attempts to "erase for an entire generation of Florida public school students" education about the LGBT community, LGBT history, LGBT rights, and same-sex marriage; and stated that the act violates the First and Fourth Amendments "by discriminatorily censoring classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in Florida public schools".

The Human Rights Campaign, Equality Florida, and Human Rights Watch oppose the act; they say that it harms LGBT children in Florida's public schools. Joni Madison, the Interim President of the Human Rights Campaign at the time of the passage of the bill, in response to the signing of the bill by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, stated that "Governor DeSantis once again placed Florida squarely on the wrong side of history, and placed his own young constituents directly in harm's way". Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, in response to the signing of the bill by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, stated that "Governor Ron DeSantis signed the 'Don't Say Gay' bill in the most cowardly way possible today. He hid his agenda from the media and the public until the last moment, skulking onto a charter school campus that is exempt from the law and away from students who would protest his presence. He has attacked parents and children in our state". Ryan Thoreson, a Specialist at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, stated that the act would "chill open discussions and support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students".

Non-advocacy organizations