Transmissions: Common ground
By the time you read this column, Florida's House of Representatives may have already voted on House Bill 1557/Senate Bill 1834.
The legislation is officially called the Parental Rights in Education bill, but you might better know it as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.Taking more than a few pages from the same organizers that brought the Briggs initiative to California in the 1970s (the failed ballot measure to ban LGBTQs from teaching in public schools), the bill would bar teachers from discussing LGBTQ issues or people in schools.
It would extend to school support services, such as counselors.As Human Rights Watch noted, "The bill would also require school personnel to notify parents of changes in a student's physical, mental, or emotional health.
It would significantly limit the ability of counselors and teachers to be a confidential resource for students, including LGBT students who may not feel safe or comfortable asking questions about sexual orientation or gender identity to family members."Let's also be clear: this won't just roll back protections for students, it will do real harm to LGBTQ students themselves.
