Parental Rights in Education Act expansion, pronoun bill advances to Senate floor

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – A bill that prohibits school teachers from teaching sexual orientation or gender identity from grades PreK-8 cleared its second Senate committee Monday.

The bill passed 14-6 and was sponsored by Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville. It passed 9-3 in the previous Education PreK-12 Committee.

It would also prohibit a school from requiring, as a condition of employment, that a teacher refer to a student or another teacher by a pronoun that does not correspond to that person’s sex.

Students also cannot be forced to refer to a teacher or to other students by pronouns that do not correspond to the person sex.

The bill notes that school material being challenged because it may be pornographic or depicts sexual conduct must be made unavailable to students until the objection is resolved.

Parents would also have the right to read aloud at public meetings passages from material that is subject to an objection under the legislation.

The sponsor said the legislation will expand the role of parents in reviewing and approving instructional materials by outlining a clear process when a parent wants to object to specific content.