Florida Law Bans 18-Year-Olds From Discussing Sexual Orientation

• A rule change to a Florida law bans education on sexual orientation and gender identity from being taught to students through 12th grade.
• The Florida Board of Education passed the law at Governor Ron DeSantis' request.
• The expanded law, expected to go into effect next month, could escalate tensions between DeSantis and his critics, including Disney.

A rule change to a Florida Department of Education law will ban education on sexual orientation and gender identity from being taught to students through 12th grade.

The Florida Board of Education approved the expanded law Wednesday at DeSantis' request. The former Parental Rights in Education law passed in 2022 bans lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade. The newly expanded law will now prohibit classroom education on the topics through 12th grade, which includes 18-year-old students.

The development is bound to fuel already tense relations between Governor Ron DeSantis and his critics, including Disney, which refer to the controversial Parental Rights in Education law as the "Don't Say Gay" law. The law is the latest in a slew of conservative-driven policies backed by DeSantis—who is widely anticipated to announce a bid for president—which includes removing books from schools that aren't on an approved reading list until they are reviewed by an employee with a media specialist certificate. The policy bans books with explicit content, such as pornographic material, from schools.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the law will take effect once a procedural notice period ends in a month.

"Educators in Florida are expected to teach to the state academic standards. The topics of gender identity and sexual orientation have no place in the classroom, unless required by law," Florida Department of Education director of communications Alex Lanfranconi, told Newsweek. "Today's State Board action reaffirms Florida's commitment to uphold parental rights and keep indoctrination out of our schools."

Equality Florida, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group that recently announced a travel advisory for the state because of recent laws that make it "hostile" for LGBTQ+ individuals, called the law a "despicable escalation" of DeSantis' "assault on freedom".

"Free states do not ban books. Free states do not censor entire communities out of the classroom. Free states do not refuse to recognize the historical contributions of LGBTQ people because of who they are and who they love. Free states do not wage war on people to score cheap political points for a man desperate to be President," a spokesperson for the organization told Newsweek in a statement.

"This policy, rubber-stamped by the State Board of Education, will escalate the government censorship that is sweeping our state, exacerbate our educator exodus, drive more hardworking families from Florida, and further stigmatize and isolate a population of young people who need our support now more than ever.

"Just one year under Don't Say LGBTQ has plunged our education system into right wing chaos," the spokesperson added. "Now, the Board of Education has forced us deeper into that chaos. Shame on the DeSantis Administration for putting a target on the backs of LGBTQ Floridians."

ACLU of Florida also spoke out against the new rule.

"The ACLU of Florida opposes the Florida State Board of Education's new rule that expands last year's "Don't Say LGBTQ+" bill to apply to grades K-12," Kara Gross, ACLU of Florida legislative director and senior policy counsel, told Newsweek in a statement. "This rule is an extreme overreach by the Board of Education to chill the free speech of Florida teachers and erase the existence and history of our vibrant LGBTQ+ community in classrooms. It was never about schoolchildren.

"It is about the erasure of LGBTQ+ people, their families, and their existence in Florida public schools. It is about the erasure of the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ youth."

Update 04/20/23 1:09 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from the ACLU as well as from Alex Lanfranconi.