Call To Action: Support Florida’s ‘Let kids be kids’ Education Rule
The Florida Department of Education is proposing a new rule to prohibit most public school teachers from conducting classes or lessons on the topics of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades Kindergarten through grade 12.
Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said the proposed rule — under Rule No. 6A-10.081 — avoids confusion and provides "clarity for teachers" and it means they're "sticking to the standards" all the way through high school.
It makes an exception only when it's a class on reproductive health or an optional health lesson or if state academic standards explicitly require the instruction.
"[T]hese standards don't incorporate gender ideology or any of these theories in math, social studies, reading or anything else," Diaz said during a press conference Thursday with Governor Ron DeSantis.
“There is no reason for instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to be part of K-12 public education,” DeSantis’ press secretary Bryan Griffin said. “Full stop.” Diaz posted on Twitter, “Students should be spending their time in school learning core academic subjects, not being force-fed radical gender and sexual ideology. “In Florida, we’re preserving the right of kids to be kids,” Diaz said.
The Miami Herald reported the proposed rule would go beyond the Parental Rights in Education law — dubbed by critics as “Don’t Say Gay” — that prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, and older grades in cases when the lessons are deemed to be not “age appropriate.”
That law, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last year, has led some teachers to question what conversations are appropriate and to be more careful when discussing certain topics as Republican leaders and conservative parents and groups more actively scrutinize education-related content. Supporters of the restrictions, however, have said the law is aimed at classroom instruction, not conversations about those topics when they naturally come up.
Republican lawmakers this year are advancing legislation that would expand the law. They want to prohibit instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade — and if such instruction is offered in grades 9 through 12, they want it to be appropriate or developmentally appropriate according to the state’s standards.
The Florida State Board of Education will vote on April 19th in Tallahassee to prohibit classroom instruction in all government schools on sexual orientation and gender identity (6A-10.081). This rule will cover every grade level in government schools.
Our friends at Florida Citizens Alliance whole-heartedly support this new rule. We believe that this rule upholds parents' rights to decide when and if to introduce their child to this kind of material. We oppose inflicting a sexualized woke agenda on Florida students.
Please send this petition to the State Board of Education Members asking them to vote yes on this new rule. We also encourage each of you to sign up for public comment using this link: https://web02.fldoe.org/rules/DefaultThen, click on "Submit Comment" for Proposed Rule 6A-10.081.
Florida Let kids be kids Education Rule
Governor Ron DeSantis
Grooming
sexual orientation
gender identity
K-12 Education
Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr.
Rule No. 6A-10.081
Parental Rights in Education law
April 19th vote
Florida Citizens Alliance
public comment