Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, from Wikimedia Commons – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license)
The administration of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took down a state Department of Education web page Dec. 6 that supplied anti-bullying resources for educators, parents and students to help create safe school environments and address high rates of suicide.
The page featured a range of resources including links to federal government anti-bullying initiatives (stopbullying.gov), information on creating safe spaces for LGBTQ young people to receive support from school staff and additional information from national leaders in combating mental health crises and suicidality among LGBTQ students.
Florida Capital Star, a right wing online publication, raised questions with officials from the Florida Department of Education, over the inclusion of links to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network which the publication categorized as “[the] group encourages teachers to integrate aspects of the LGBTQ lifestyle with their curriculum and provides recommended policies and lesson plans.”
The publication then went on to describe GSLEN as “part of a billion dollar network that funds LGBTQ groups. These groups are focused on initiatives that promote gender identity and transgenderism by training leaders in political activism.”
The publication then noted that “another link on the FDOE web page redirected users to stopbullying.gov, an official website of the United States government. The link provided guidance related LGBTQ bullying.”
The publication stated “The site, earlier this year, advised school officials “not to disclose or discuss sexual identity issues with parents or anyone else, without the young person’s prior permission, unless there is an immediate threat to their safety or wellbeing.” This language appears to have recently been removed from the site.”
According to Florida Politics, “When pulling the bullying portal, the department removed links to state anti-bullying policy, LGBTQ advocacy groups and other bullying prevention resources.”
Florida Politics state government reporter Renzo Downey noted that the webpage for the Office of Safe Schools, was created under the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.
“Attacks on LGBTQ students from Tallahassee are fueling a toxic, dangerous environment on the ground,” said Nadine Smith, Equality Florida executive director. “From the passage of explicitly anti-transgender legislation this year to proposed legislation that would jail doctors and parents for providing lifesaving medical care to transgender children, a politically-motivated assault on the LGBTQ community is putting young people at risk. Vulnerable youth deserve better than a DeSantis Administration intent on putting them in harm’s way in order to score cheap political points.”
Downey also reported that Florida’s lawmakers this past spring passed the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which states that public schools cannot infringe on the “fundamental rights” of parents to direct the upbringing of their child — extending to decisions about education, health care and mental health.
He goes on to note that the DeSantis‘ administration and DOE has used the legislation to ban blanket mask mandates in schools. But during the 2021 Session, debate centered around fears from LGBTQ advocacy groups and allies that the legislation could reveal to parents the gender identity or sexual orientation of children who came out at school before coming out at home.
Until the page was pulled it instructed educators to protect children’s privacy.
“Be careful not to disclose or discuss sexual identity issues with parents or anyone else, without the young person’s prior permission, unless there is an immediate threat to their safety or wellbeing,” it read.
Florida Politics points out that the guidance could run afoul of the Parents’ Bill of Rights law.
Equality Florida in a media release stated that “escalating hostility toward LGBTQ Floridians comes as LGBTQ students continue to face exponentially higher rates of bullying, discrimination, violence, depression, and suicide.
“Compared with their peers, LGB young people are nearly twice as likely to experience bullying in school, experience sexual violence nearly three times more often, and are four times as likely to attempt suicide. Those disparities grow when discussing outcomes for transgender and nonbinary students. The resources removed from the Department of Education website were all aimed at addressing bullying and suicidality in schools, with a particular focus on LGBTQ young people — those most at risk.’
“The facts are clear: LGBTQ young people need more support in our schools, not less,” explained Equality Florida’s Smith. “We protect the lives of our youth by equipping administrators, educators and parents with the tools necessary to affirm and create safe learning environments for them. These resources are a critical component of creating truly safe schools. They must be reinstated.”
