No matter where you come down on sexuality or gender identity, this is an unbelievably vague piece of language. And it’s important, I think, that the word “instruction” is not defined. And the vagueness of that really raises questions about how this law would be interpreted.ĭT: So it’s important to say, this law does not literally say, “Don’t say gay.” What it does is potentially create the kind of legal atmosphere designed to discourage teachers from including gay characters or the issue of gay people in any classroom instruction. And so that would be something that I think parents, teachers, students even, are going to debate. I mean, I think people disagree about what’s appropriate for a 13-year-old, for a 16-year-old. I think that the second part of this, that in all grades-including grades above Grade 3-you would have to make sure that such discussions would be “developmentally appropriate.” That is something that would be very debated. And what would that mean in practice? A book where a character has two moms or that, you know, mentions a gay historical figure-the fact that that person was gay means it would not be the book that the teacher would read aloud to the class. So I think we should start with the passage that earned the bill the nickname “Don’t Say Gay.” I am quoting now from this bill: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through Grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” Dana, what does this mean?ĭG: Yeah, so I think it’s obviously open to interpretation, but the most obvious thing it means is that if a K-through-3 teacher is doing a lesson, it should not touch on issues of sexual orientation or gender identity.
I’d like to go line by line through the most important parts of this bill and have you explain to me what this law literally says? So does that sound OK?ĭT: All right. And that’s not hard because the bill is pretty short. Part of Derek’s conversation with Dana has been excerpted below.ĭerek Thompson: What I thought we might do is walk through this bill line by line. Then he talks to Matt Belloni, a cofounder of Puck News and the host of the Ringer podcast The Town, about what the debate within Disney says about the future of the culture war and corporations. The law is called “Parental Rights in Education,” but its critics-which include Democrats, Hollywood, and many outspoken employees of the Walt Disney Company-call it “Don’t Say Gay.” What does the law actually say? And how has it created a firestorm at Disney? In this episode, Derek talks to Dana Goldstein, a New York Times reporter, about the details of the law. On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that prohibits much classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity.