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don t say gay
Human Rights Watch Calls On Biden to Fight DeSantis Censorship Laws
"People feel empowered to attack queer students because if the legislators can do it, they think they can do it too," one student told the human rights group.
Jun 19, 2024
Warning that hateful laws and policies will only spread if not challenged, legal experts joined human rights campaigners on Wednesday in calling on the Biden administration to take action against the "vicious" attacks on LGBTQ+ and Black people, both students and teachers, that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has waged through his state's schools.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) was joined by grassroots group Florida Rising and the Rule of Law Impact Lab at Stanford Law School in releasing a new report titled, "Why Do They Hate Us So Much?": Discriminatory Censorship Laws Harm Education in Florida."
The report's title stems from a question Black students asked one of teachers interviewed by HRW between January and April 2024, months after the state government released new standards for teaching African American history. The new standards teach students that Black Americans benefited from slavery and discourage students from learning about contributions Black individuals have made to U.S. history, asking children in Florida schools "to simply identify African American individuals," according toEducation Week.
The new teaching standards, along with a number of laws passed by Republican lawmakers since 2021, have helped create "an environment of censorship and discrimination in classrooms that harms education for all Florida students but is especially hostile in its impact on Black Floridians and LGBTQ Floridians," said HRW in the report.
Through interviews with more than 60 teachers, students, administrators, and parents as well as reviews of Florida's education policies, court record, and media accounts, HRW found that in just over three years, the public school system in the state has devolved into an environment where educators and children fear retaliation for speaking about racism, LGBTQ+ rights, and other social justice issues.
"People feel empowered to attack queer students because if the legislators can do it, they think they can do it too," a high school student named Kara told HRW. "I've heard slurs being said constantly and no teacher bats an eye and it's like, whoa, why aren't you doing anything about it? We need more protections for queer students. We need schools that are an inclusive space."
A parent named Patricia told the group the DeSantis administration has waged "an attack on Blackness" that has led people across the state "to feel hopeless."
The new laws include a ban on so-called "critical race theory," a legal theory that is not taught on public K-12 schools but has been adopted as a flashpoint for conservatives who appear to define the term as any discussion of structural racism or the legacy of slavery in the U.S.; the Stop Wrongs Against Our Kids and Employees (Stop WOKE) Act, which limits classroom discussions of racism; and laws limiting classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity, including one commonly known as the "Don't Say Gay or Trans" law.
The report notes that since DeSantis and the Republican Party began introducing the new laws, teachers have been fired and investigated for such supposed transgressions as refusing to remove a Black Lives Matter flag from a classroom, showing a Disney film that included a gay character, using the gender-neutral honorific Mx., and posting on social media about concerns over book bans.
Trey Walk, a U.S. democracy researcher for Human Rights Watch, noted that the report was released on Juneteenth, the national holiday which marks the day enslaved Black people in Texas learned that the Emancipation Proclamation had ordered their freedom. DeSantis has refused to make the day a state holiday and has not formally recognized the day since 2020.
"June 19 is Juneteenth, a time we should reckon with the devastating costs of suppressing information, including about slavery and its legacies, that will move the United States forward," said Walk. "We're also celebrating Pride Month, a time we cherish the freedom of LGBTQ people to be represented and valued, including in their schools."
Amrit Singh, executive director at the Rule of Law Impact Lab, said the Biden administration must enact "robust civil rights protections to combat this trend of discriminatory censorship and book bans in schools."
The groups called on President Joe Biden to hold a national summit on educational censorship and said Congress should increase funding for the Department of Education's (DOE) Office for Civil Rights; hold public hearings on censorship laws like those pushed by DeSantis; and pass the Books Save Lives Act to clarify that discriminatory censorship in schools violates the U.S. Constitution.
They also called on the DOE to increase community engagement with students, teachers, and families who have been impacted by censorship laws in schools; issue guidance clarifying that laws distorting or restricting classroom content may deny students from protected classes educational opportunities, which may amount a civil rights violation; and initiate compliance reviews in school districts and state where a large number of civil rights complaints are filed.
"The question all officials must now address is how to ensure students learn U.S. history and the contributions and cultures of the many people of the United States with accuracy and nuance," said HRW, "and discuss and think critically about these topics in a context where they may express their identities and their opinions free from discrimination and fear."
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AP Psychology Effectively Banned in Florida Over Lesson on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity
"Sadly, it's all part of the DeSantis playbook of eroding rights, censoring those he disagrees with, and undermining access to knowledge," said one critic.
Aug 03, 2023
The Republican-controlled Florida Board of Education on Thursday effectively banned Advanced Placement Psychology by notifying school district superintendents that teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity—key subjects in college-level psychology curricula—is prohibited under the state's so-called "Don't Say Gay or Trans" law.
That means class schedules for the fall semester—which begins next week in most Florida school districts—are in limbo for thousands of students. Last year, around 28,000 pupils in more than 500 Florida high schools took AP Psychology.
"What a terrible decision that is 100% politically motivated."
In a statement, the College Board—the New York-based national body that approves AP courses and runs SAT testing—called sexual orientation and gender identity "essential topics" in psychology.
"The AP course asks students to 'describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development,'" the board explained. "This element of the framework is not new: gender and sexual orientation have been part of AP Psychology since the course launched 30 years ago."
"We cannot modify AP Psychology in response to regulations that would censor college-level standards for credit, placement, and career readiness," the body continued. "Our policy remains unchanged. Any course that censors required course content cannot be labeled 'AP' or 'Advanced Placement,' and the 'AP Psychology' designation cannot be utilized on student transcripts."
"To be clear, any AP Psychology course taught in Florida will violate either Florida law or college requirements," the College Board added. "Therefore, we advise Florida districts not to offer AP Psychology until Florida reverses their decision and allows parents and students to choose to take the full course."
As originally signed into law by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2022, H.B. 1557—dubbed the "Don't Say Gay or Trans" bill by critics—"prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity" in grades K-3 or at any level "that is not age-appropriate." In May, DeSantis expanded the legislation to include all grades K-12.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, condemned the "slippery slope of government censorship and bans" in DeSantis' Florida.
"Sadly, it's all part of the DeSantis playbook of eroding rights, censoring those he disagrees with, and undermining access to knowledge," Weingarten said of the 2024 GOP presidential candidate, whose campaign has been accused of embracing homophobia.
"Just this year, countless educators have been forced to remove or cover up their classroom libraries under threat of sanctions and jail, countless students have lost out because the governor ended AP African American Studies, and now this assault on AP Psychology," she added. "It's an unconscionable but far-from-surprising move from an extremist and increasingly unpopular leader who is fast becoming both a national pariah and a global embarrassment."
At the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, president Kelley Robinson said that "psychology is centered around people—all people."
"Erasing us from the curriculum ignores our existence, sets back Florida students who want to pursue psychology in higher education, and disrupts pathways for future mental health professionals to provide comprehensive, culturally competent mental healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community," she continued.
"College Board's AP Psychology curriculum is science-driven and endorsed by both educators and experts," Robinson noted. "Educational systems that reject the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people from their psychology courses are failing in their commitment to students."
"As anti-LGBTQ+ lawmakers pass discriminatory legislation and spread dangerous misinformation, we're continuing to see disturbing attempts to rewrite history and censor education, misaligned with the realities of our country," she added.
Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-42) said in a statement, "As someone who graduated from Florida public schools with college credit via AP classes, I know how powerful and effective these classes are and I am sick to my stomach to see what Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican Party are doing in our state."
Florida Department of Education Spokesperson Cassie Pelelis accused the College Board of "attempting to force school districts to prevent students from taking the AP Psychology."
"The department didn't 'ban' the course," she insisted. "The course remains listed in Florida's Course Code Directory for the 2023-24 school year. We encourage the College Board to stop playing games with Florida students and continue to offer the course and allow teachers to operate accordingly."
During the previous academic year, educators, students, parents, and Democratic lawmakers reacted angrily after the DeSantis administration rejected a new high school AP African American Studies course—without even seeing its syllabus—claiming it violated the state's ban on "woke" education and lacked "educational value."
In March, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's preliminary injunction against the Stop WOKE Act.
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Fight Back Against the Epidemic of Hate This Pride Month
“More than 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been signed into law this year alone, more than doubling last year’s number, which was previously the worst year on record,” the Human Rights Campaign said.
Jun 11, 2023
The modern struggle for equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual people has been waged for over a century. Despite significant gains, the work is sadly far from over as Pride Month begins. Just as massive plumes of sun-dimming smoke from wildfires now raging north of the border billow over the eastern half of the United States, darkening the sky and driving people indoors, so too has an epidemic of discrimination and hate targeting traditionally marginalized LGBTQ+ communities swept the land, unleashed by demagogues, cynical politicians, and bigots. State and local governments from coast to coast are passing repressive bills, banning books, and criminalizing people.
The rash of laws, often accompanied by intimidation and acts of violence, has prompted the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, to announce:
“We have officially declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States for the first time following an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year. More than 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been signed into law this year alone, more than doubling last year’s number, which was previously the worst year on record.”
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Kelley Robinson explained on the Democracy Now! news hour:
“In this moment, when people are traveling across the country, when they’re deciding to move or what schools to go to, we had a responsibility to let people know that, one, there’s an imminent health and safety crisis facing our community, and, two, there’s a dizzying patchwork of protections for us and for our families depending on the state that you’re in.”
HRC tracks these anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Over 520 of them have been introduced so far this year, and 75 have already been signed into law, with broad impacts: criminalizing the provision of gender-affirming health care for youth, prohibiting the teaching of LGBTQ-related topics, barring transgender people from using a gender-appropriate bathroom, banning books, and more.
“A loud and vocal minority… is sowing hate and fear against our community because they’re not willing to solve the real problems,” Robinson added. “If they actually cared about the safety of our kids, they would be moving forward legislation to prevent gun violence, the number one killer of our children.”
The legislative assault is occurring in parallel with the 2024 Republican presidential primary season. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has championed several oppressive laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community, including the school curriculum ban known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, and banning gender affirming care for minors. Others in the increasingly crowded Republican field are following suit.
“A loud and vocal minority… is sowing hate and fear against our community because they’re not willing to solve the real problems.”
Former South Carolina Governor and presidential hopeful Nikki Haley suggested opposing trans rights was a feminist issue.
“The idea that we have biological boys playing in girls’ sports, it is the women’s issue of our time,” Haley said at a recent CNN town hall. “How are we supposed to get our girls used to the fact that biological boys are in their locker rooms?”
Robinson responded on Democracy Now!, “This is political theater. They are doing this to pander to a MAGA Republican base in so many of these states… Seventy percent of Americans support the LGBTQ+ community and believe that legislatures should be standing with our values. One in five of Generation Z identifies as a member of this community, 20 million American adults. This is not an issue of the margins.”
The evangelical Christian movement has long been at the forefront attacking the LGBTQ+ community. Major televangelists like Pat Robertson, who died this week at the age of 93, and groups like Focus on the Family and the Alliance to Defend Freedom have stoked intolerance and repression not only here at home, but around the world.
Uganda is now on the front lines of this U.S.-based push to criminalize homosexuality. In May, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed an anti-LGBTQ law that makes same-sex relationships punishable by life in prison or, in some cases, death. Many LGBTQ Ugandans have gone into hiding or have fled the country.
“The homophobia and transphobia we are seeing towards queer and trans persons in Uganda is from the West. It is mostly peddled by extreme American evangelicals,” Ugandan LGBTQ activist Frank Mugisha said on Democracy Now! He fears similar laws will follow in neighboring countries like Tanzania and Kenya.
Human Rights Campaign’s state of emergency declaration is unprecedented, but is not simply a warning. Their statement ends with a call to action, one which everyone, whether LGBTQ+ or not, should heed this Pride month and beyond:
“Our community is in danger, but we won’t stop fighting back—not now, not ever.”
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