Florida high school offers reprints, refunds after controversial LGBTQ+ yearbook content
LONGWOOD, Fla. (FLV) – Lyman High School in Seminole County decided to offer refunds and reprint the books following criticism received for featuring a section in their yearbook that provided definitions for terms like “gender fluid” and “pansexual.”
Parents expressed their outrage towards school for including a two-page spread in the yearbook that featured a list of various sexualities and LGBTQ+ terms.
Jessica Tillmann, chair of the Seminole County chapter of Moms for Liberty, voiced her concern to the Orlando Sentinel, stating that the definitions featured in the yearbook were not suitable for the age group of the students.
“They shouldn’t have any sexual definitions in a yearbook,” she said. “This is a yearbook that goes to every student as young as 14.”
Others, like year book’s editor-in-chief, defended the content against the barrage of criticism, stating that “we didn’t do anything wrong.”
“To be fair, it was supposed to have the opposite effect, which was to be more inclusive and more understanding and just gain that perspective,” she said.
The controversy surrounding Lyman High School’s yearbook arises amidst the ongoing discussion about the enacted Parental Rights in Education law, referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law by critics, which restricts discussions related to sexuality and gender in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms.
Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill that would expand those restrictions to PreK-8th grades. The State Board of Education also prohibited gender teachings through 12th grade with some exceptions.
