Florida teachers are being told they can't mention their same-sex partners because it could violate DeSantis' ban on LGBTQ discussions in schools
AP Photo/John Raoux, File
- Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act, criticized as the "Don't Say Gay" law, took effect July 1.
- A school district's teachers were reportedly advised not to talk about their same-sex partners.
- The law bans talk of sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
As the start of the school year approaches in Florida, teachers are grappling with a new law governing discussions around sexual orientation and gender identity in their classrooms — with one school district advising teachers in same-sex relationships to avoid talking about their partners altogether, The Washington Post reported.
Orange County Public Schools told teachers in same-sex relationships that they could have photos of their partners in their classrooms but shouldn't talk about them, The Post reported.
Discussions about a teacher's same-sex partner "could be deemed classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity," Michael Ollendorff, a district spokesperson, told The Post.
Orange County Public Schools didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
But Orange County isn't the only district grappling with the new law. In Miami-Dade County, the school board is going back and forth on which textbooks are allowed in sex education, The Post reported. A teacher in Palm Beach County told The Post another instructor omitted a historical figure's sexual orientation from her lessons.
The new guidance is a result of the state's controversial Parental Rights in Education Act, which took effect on July 1 after being signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida in March. Critics have called the act the "Don't Say Gay" law.
The law explicitly bans the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade and includes ambiguous language banning that discussion "in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate."