Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Law Goes Is Now in Effect

metroweekly.com:

WFTV. A representative for Orange County Public Schools confirmed that district officials held three separate seminars at Apopka High School last week, but disputed the content of the seminars, arguing that the advice provided in the session was not official guidance, but was simply meant to illustrate examples of how the law might be applied.“During the presentation, administrators posed hypothetical scenarios based upon the new statutes and verbal answers were provided based on the limited guidance from the Florida Department of Education,” the spokesman said. “Once further guidance is received from the Florida Department of Education, the district will provide formal guidance to administrators and staff.”A separate OCPS official told WFTV that the district needed to err on the side of caution until the Department of Education develops official guidance.

The strict interpretations mentioned in the hypothetical scenarios are necessary to protect teachers, to avoid the possibility of having their teaching licenses revoked if they are accused of running afoul of the law — whether or not they actually did.Andrew Spar, the president of the Florida Education Association, told The Hill that fear of being terminated will likely lead many districts to be extra cautious and ban any and all conversations relating to LGBTQ topics.Although topics related to sex education are not taught until fifth grade, and do not include lessons on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to Spar, some pupils may raise LGBTQ-related issues without prompting.

But Republican lawmakers have insisted that any discussion of such issues among minors — especially without their parents’ permission — is inappropriate, and underscore the need for.