A House Republican filed a proposal that would bar instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity through eighth grade, expanding a controversial 2022 law that prohibited such instruction in early grades.
The eight-page bill (HB 1223) also would prevent school employees from telling students their preferred pronouns if those pronouns 鈥渄o not correspond to his or her sex鈥� or asking students about their preferred pronouns.
Rep. Adam Anderson, R-Palm Harbor, on Tuesday filed the bill for consideration during the legislative session that will start March 7.
The 2022 law prohibited instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade and required it to be 鈥渁ge-appropriate or developmentally appropriate鈥� in in higher grades.
Under Anderson鈥檚 bill, the 鈥渁ge-appropriate or developmentally appropriate鈥� test would continue to apply in ninth through 12th grades.
The 2022 law drew national debate, as supporters said it would help protect students and opponents disparagingly gave it the moniker 鈥渄on鈥檛 say gay.鈥�
Anderson鈥檚 bill would go beyond the instruction issues to address personal pronouns. The bill says that it 鈥渟hall be the policy鈥� of all public-schools 鈥渢hat a person's sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person's sex.鈥�
The LGBTQ-advocacy organization Equality Florida quickly criticized the proposal and said the 2022 law was part of a 鈥渃ensorship agenda鈥� driven by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
鈥淭he DeSantis regime isn鈥檛 satisfied with a hostile takeover of traditional public schools. They envision a future where LGBTQ families have no school choice to find dignity or respect,鈥� Jon Harris Maurer, Equality Florida鈥檚 public policy director, said in a statement.
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