The most notable development was the passage last March of the Parental Rights in Education Act, commonly known to critics as the “Parental Rights in Education Act.”Don't say gayA law that restricted “classroom instruction on … sexual orientation or gender identity” to children up to third grade and discussion of these subjects “in a manner that is inappropriate for the age or developmental level of students.”
But the new law doesn't just affect young children. That has chilled speech in classrooms across Florida and has school officials wary of lawsuits. remove rainbow decorations or avoid certain topics. Some were afraid mention your same-sex spouses. Just last week, days before the kids gathered in Naples, DeSantis announced his intention to expand “Don't Say Gay” from its current form to officially covers students from grades 4 to 12.
Another law gave any Florida resident the right to file objections to materials in classrooms or school libraries that conservative groups have used for lobbying purposes. many books that discuss LGBTQ issues or race are subject to ban. The bookshelves were covered to hide them from view as their contents are subject to review and approval by certified officials.
However, the students most affected in Florida were transgender or non-binary children. In addition to the 2021 law banning transgender girls from playing on sports teams for student-athletes assigned female at birth, ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender minors came into effect this month.
The law prompted Kayak, a 17-year-old who identifies as non-binary and trans, to rush to start hormone replacement therapy in December so that he would be covered by an exception protecting minors who had already started treatment.
The cumulative effect of these attacks has left LGBTQ students like Kayak feeling anxious or worse. According to 2022 Project Trevor Studysuicide prevention nonprofit, 45% of Florida LGBT youth seriously considered suicide last year, and 16% attempted it. These rates are higher for transgender and nonbinary youth, at 54% and 20%, respectively.
The Trevor Project notes that LGBTQ youth are not inherently at higher risk for suicide, but rather are at increased risk due to social stigma or abuse. Their report found that 74% of respondents had experienced discrimination in the past year, and 86% believed that recent policies had sometimes or greatly negatively affected their well-being. Laws designed to protect children actively harm them.
“It's just scary to exist here because I become a weird adult. And when you go from a weird child to a weird adult, you go from a victim to a groomer to a pedophile,” Kayak said. “As a trans guy, I'm afraid of being a trans adult because then I'm a 'bad person'.”
But the political attack is not over yet. Another 10 bills are still pending in the state Legislature. ACLU determined as harmful to the LGBT community, including Bill to restrict transgender people's use of restrooms And broadly worded bill this, among other things, require all transgender youth to detransition. If the bill passes, parents who try to secure gender-affirming care for their children in another state could remove their children from care.
It's for these reasons that Shaw, director of the GLSEN chapter, said the conference's discussion on gender-affirming care is critical to sharing information that some children may be desperate to find online. Instead, nurse Mishya Nishioka, director of Planned's gender-affirming hormone therapy service Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, spoke with interested participants about hormone options, fertility preservation, and updating gender identity on legal documents.
“For some of these kids, the presentation could be life-saving,” Shaw said.
