Effort to invalidate Florida parental rights law fails as settlement reached, DeSantis’ office says

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said Monday that a mutual settlement has been reached in a legal case that was seeking to invalidate Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law.

The law from 2022 had banned classroom discussion in grades K-3 on sexual orientation and gender identity. Such restrictions have been expanded to other grades in recent years.

DeSantis’ office said the court is expected to dismiss the lawsuit with a “mutually agreed settlement” now being reached between Florida and the plaintiffs.

His office noted that the settlement “ensures that the law will remain in effect.”

The agreement was made as part of a suit filed by multiple activist groups, including Equality Florida and Family Equality, with families joining in on the suit.

Shortly after the bill was filed, groups launched legal claims against the law, which DeSantis’ office described as “typical fashion.”

The plaintiffs filed their claims in March 2022, and the suit has been going on for two years.

General counsel Ryan Newman said the state “fought hard to ensure this law couldn’t be maligned in court, as it was in the public arena by the media and large corporate actors.”

“We are victorious, and Florida’s classrooms will remain a safe place under the Parental Rights in Education Act,” Newman said.

The law also requires schools to let parents give permission for health screenings and can deny any health services offered at the beginning of each year.

The governor’s office reiterated enthusiasm that children will remain “protected from radical gender and sexual ideology in the classroom.”