The Florida House held a contentious debate on the dangerously anti-LGBTQ “Don’t Say Gay” bill Tuesday afternoon, and despite numerous reports, one of the bill’s core tenets – outing LGBTQ+ children to parents – remains intact.
After massive nationwide outrage the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Joe Harding (photo), withdrew his amendment that would have forced schools who had determined it would be dangerous to a student’s well-being to be outed to their parents to effectively give the school six weeks to divide a plan to tell parents. The outing would still have been required, just with a delay.
But the legislation, HB 1557, still clearly requires schools to out students, by “notifying a student’s parent if there is a change in the student’s services or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being and the school’s ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the student.”
That language, exceptionally and intentionally broad, is in the main bill. It has not changed, despite misleading media reports trumpeting the amendment was withdrawn.
Schools can, according to the current text of the legislation, still on a case-by-case basis, decide to not out a student if they feel it could endanger the student at home. But another core tenet of the bill still exists: parents can sue if they feel the school has violated this new law. That forces administrators to weigh being sued versus protecting the welfare of a child.
Rep. Harding claims the bill does not force schools to out students to parents, but a clear and reasonable reading of the language makes clear it does, and schools will take it to mean it does. The threat of being sued compounds that interpretation.
Note also that the bill’s language says schools must notify parents if there has been a change to “the school’s ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the student.”
Republicans on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted down an amendment proposed by Democratic lawmakers that would require schools “to provide a safe and supportive” environment to LGBTQ students, and other minority students, making clear the safety of children is not the goal of Rep. Harding’s legislation.
Indeed, the bill directs schools to adopt procedures that “must reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children…”
The “Don’t Say Gay” bill is expected to be put before the full Florida House for a vote Thursday. A companion bill in the Senate is also being fast-tracked. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signaled support for the legislation.