Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis signed a bill, formally titled “Parental Rights in Education” on Monday that prohibits discussions and classroom instructions on sexual orientation and gender identity in some elementary grades in schools.
“We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination,” says DeSantis.
Florida's HB 1557 law can sue schools or teachers that engage in these subjects, and will go into effect from July 1, 2022.
After the bill passed the legislature, workers at Disney staged walkouts urging lawmakers to repeal it. Disney, one of the state’s major employers and corporate political donors, had pledged $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign and other LGBTQ rights organizations.
The company has also stopped all contributions to political campaigns.
The bill drew national opposition from LGBTQ+ advocates, students, national Democrats, the White House, and the entertainment industry alike claiming that it can create a negative impact on teachers and young students.
The bill, dubbed by activists as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, passed a Republican-controlled state legislature at the beginning of March.
