Pembroke Pines Charter High School had a massive walkout to protest the 'Don't Say Gay' bill in Florida, with students chanting, 'We say gay.'
Florida is continuing to advance a pair of controversial bills that would bar school districts from encouraging classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity. The state's Senate and House have proposed the Parental Rights in Education bills — commonly referred to the"Don't Say Gay" bills by critics — which would apply to such topics in primary grade levels, as well as in cases where the discussions are deemed"not age-appropriate.
"I want folks that oppose the bill to be really clear on what they're actually opposing," the House bill's sponsor, Republican Joe Harding, told the."I want them to go on record to say it's OK for a six-year-old to have one identity in school and one at home because the school encourages that kind of behavior."
For Delaney Ocock, a senior at Olympia High School in Orlando, the bill is an"unnecessary" barrier to LGBTQ students such as herself from having an essential support system at school. "If I hadn't had that experience of having a really awesome accepting middle school experience, I definitely wouldn't be as vocal about who I am in my identity today," she said."Having that really normalized it for me and made me not afraid to speak about who I am."
A 2019 survey from The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network found that the school climate in Florida isThe vast majority of LGBTQ youth who responded to the survey said they regularly heard anti-LGBTQ remarks in schools, and about a quarter had experienced physical harassment at school. But 98% of respondents could identify at least one school staff member who was supportive.
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