Representatives for Orange County teachers sounded alarm bells Monday after word spread from principals that Orange County Public Schools would impose strict restrictions on classroom behavior after Florida’s new Parental Rights in Education law, a.k.a the “Don’t Say Gay” law, took effect. According to representatives of the county’s teacher association, teachers and staff members will be disallowed from wearing rainbow articles of clothing, including lanyards distributed by the district last year. Elementary-level teachers reported being discouraged from putting pictures of their same-sex spouse on their desk or talking about them to students. “Safe Space” stickers aimed at LGBTQ students may have to be removed from doors, teachers will have to report to parents if a student “comes out” to them and they must use pronouns assigned at birth, regardless of what the parents allow, the CTA reported.
In April, Jeremy Baldwin has been teaching at Booker High School in Sarasota for the last five and a half years was forced to remove his rainbow “COEXIST” flag in his classroom, because it was “political” in nature.
This is heinous. And what’s even worse is that there is still no national or statewide law that prohibits discrimination against LGBT people in Florida. This means that, according to state law, it is legal to fire someone, evict them from housing, or deny them service at a restaurant just because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender..
Still waiting on that 45 year old Equality Act to pass Congress. -smh-
Welcome to the 1960’s.
