The Florida Board of Education has forbidden the teaching of gender identity and sexuality throughout all grades in K-12 public schools.
In doing so, it is extending a nearly year-old legislative ban on such lessons from kindergarten through third grade, The Washington Post reported. The rule builds on a law enacted in early 2022, the Parental Rights in Education Act (dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law), that outlawed classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3 and required that lessons on these issues remain "developmentally appropriate" for older grades.
The rule will not require legislative approval. The Republican-dominated state legislature is separately considering a bill that would have extended the ban on gender identity and sexual orientation lessons through eighth grade.
The members of the Florida Board of Education are appointed by the governor, with the consent of the Senate, to serve four-year terms. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed all of the board's seven members.
Andrew Davis