The guides were the result of a 2008 Florida statute known as the “Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act,” which required school districts to draft local anti-bullying policies. The information available in the guides also was intended to promote a safe working environment for LGBTQ+ staff in schools. They are designed to promote a better understanding of LGBTQ+ culture for teachers and administrators in schools, helping to foster a safe and inclusive academic environment and understand the unique needs of LGBTQ+ students. Instead, the guides are meant to be used as a resource for a teacher who wants to better support an LGBTQ+ student through any situation - when facing bullying and harassment, discrimination, coming out of the closet, or navigating complicated personal scenarios.
The guides are not part of the curriculum and teachers are not required to read or teach them. They include Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, and at least 19 other districts statewide. What do these student guides do?Ībout a third of Florida’s school districts have relied on LGBTQ+ Critical Support Guides, including some of the state’s largest districts. Here’s a look at the new restrictions that districts will face for the 2022-2023 school year, as the law takes effect July 1. “We have worked so hard to be an inclusive school district for all children, and this bill is going to make it more difficult for children.” “I’m concerned about what the unintended consequences are going to be,” Broward Superintendent Vickie Cartwright said in a recent interview. Now, schools are readying for the changes on the way. Many schools embraced them as a set of good practices, especially when it comes to inclusion for transgender and non-binary students.
Schools saw the guides as a way of ensuring LGBTQ+ students feel free to seek out support from trusted adults on campus, or to advocate for their rights openly in class and in after-school clubs. The law is based on the idea that parents - not schools - should have the final say about their children.
Now, these guides stand to be undone by Florida’s new Parental Rights in Education law, which critics call “don’t say gay.” Even though the word “gay” is not written in the law, it prohibits instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade, and potentially restricts instruction for older students, too.Ī review by the South Florida Sun Sentinel shows exactly how the law will wipe out many of the school guides’ key provisions, including how the law bans schools from keeping information about students’ gender identity and pronouns from parents if the students request that. (Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS)įor more than a decade, many Florida schools have relied on “student support guides” to help teachers navigate the delicate issues of LGBTQ+ students in class and after-school clubs. Moses May, 14, leads a student protest at Gaither High in Tampa, Florida, against what critics call the "Don't Say Gay" bills, on Monday, Feb.