Florida students will now be required to get their parents' consent before using a nickname in schools, a move that critics say targets the LGBTQ+ community and could extend well beyond.
In an email sent Tuesday morning, parents and guardians of Seminole County students were advised that school districts in the state are now “required to develop a form to obtain parental consent to use any deviation or nickname from the child’s legal name in school.”
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
The email cites rule 61-1.0955(8)(m), which was implemented in July and, according to the Florida Department of Education, is meant “to strengthen the rights of parents and safeguard their child’s educational record to ensure the use of the child’s legal name in school or a parent-approved nickname.”
Per Fox35 Orlando, a similar memo went out to parents of Orange County students this week, with more expected to follow.
The rule would impact everyone from students who prefer using a shorthand nickname (“Tom” versus “Thomas,” for instance), to those who prefer a different name altogether, including transgender students (who have already been the target of numerous pieces of legislation in Florida in recent months).
But even if a transgender student did get permission from their parent to use a different name, teachers would still not be obligated to use that student’s preferred pronouns.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 presidential candidate and leader of Florida’s escalating culture wars.AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
It also allows residents to challenge any book found in a school library or teacher library, which has already opened the door for several book bans in the state. (In Tampa’s Hillsborough County, for instance, teachers are evencutting back on teaching Shakespearedue to the stringent rules).
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters at a campaign rally in Orlando on Nov. 7, 2022.Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via AP
The sweeping new standards are already having a major impact in Florida, where some counties (including Broward, Florida’s second-most-populous county that includes Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood) have said theywill now no longer be teaching alternatives to abstinence— only abstinence. Broward County has also said, due to the strict new standards, it will limit education about menstruation to students in grades 6 to 12.
The critics add that the measure “contains various provisions that limit student safety, ignores trans and nonbinary identities, bans essential education about bodies and reproductive health, and establishes a system where educational materials can be easily removed from classrooms without fair and proper evaluation.”
The Tampa Pride Parade in the Ybor City neighborhood on March 26, 2022, held shortly after the passage of Florida’s initial “Don’t Say Gay” bill.Octavio Jones/Getty
In 2022, Florida lawmakerspassed a controversial billto block the classroom discussion of certain LGBTQ+ topics in the third grade or younger, or “in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” This year, the measure wasexpanded to cover grades 4 through 12, as well.
The bill, formally titled “Parental Rights in Education” and often referred to as the"Don’t Say Gay" law, receivedwidespread, national backlasheven before it took effect, with critics saying it could have adverse effects on an already marginalized community.
The original billignited a feud between DeSantis and Disney World(Florida’s largest private employer and a tourism juggernaut) when the companyexpressed oppositionto the polarizing measure.
In May, DeSantissigned a billthat will eliminate funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs from public universities and prohibit the teaching of critical race theory in general education courses.
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More recently, DeSantis has defendednew academic standardin Florida that requires middle schools to teach students that enslaved people “developed skills” that “could be applied for their personal benefit.”
Meanwhile, some of DeSantis' most high profile and deep-pocketed donors are abandoning his campaign, or at least threatening to—some citing what they call “extremism.”
source: people.com
