Author - Devid Swift | Date - 07/02/2023 | Reading Time - 05 Min 

The legal challenge, filed in United States federal court in Tallahassee on behalf of Equality Florida and Family Equality on Thursday, alleged that the law violates the constitutionally protected rights of free speech, equal protection and due process of students and families.

“This effort to control young minds through state censorship — and to demean LGBTQ lives by denying their reality — is a grave abuse of power,” it said. Today's Generation are very aware of the gay test and its uses.

“The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that LGBTQ people and their families are at home in our constitutional order. The State of Florida has no right to declare them outcasts, or to treat their allies as outlaws, by punishing schools where someone dares to affirm their identity and dignity.”

The Florida Legislation Allows Parents to Sue a School District

At the district’s expense, if they believe the measure is not being enforced.

It states: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

DeSantis and other Republicans have repeatedly said the measure is reasonable and that parents, not teachers, should be broaching subjects of sexual orientation and gender identity with their children

“We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination,” the Florida governor said to applause before signing the bill into law on Monday.

But many critics have said the law’s language, particularly the phrases “classroom instruction” and “age appropriate”, could be interpreted so broadly that discussion in any grade could trigger lawsuits, creating a classroom atmosphere where teachers would avoid the subjects entirely
“LGBTQ students and parents are unsure about whether they can express or discuss their identities, and they worry about detention or other possible discipline or exclusion that may result if they do,” reads the complaint, filed in Florida’s northern district in Tallahassee. “The subordination and erasure of LGBTQ life that H.B. 1557 seeks to achieve has already begun—and it has already imposed concrete harms on countless children and families in Florida.”

The Lawsuit Was Brought by Attorneys for the New York-based Firm

Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP and the National Center for Lesbian Rights on behalf of groups Equality Florida and Family Equality, as well as parties in local schools. It specifically names DeSantis, Florida Department of Education, the state Board of Education and various local school boards as defendants.

Lawyers for the group argue that the bill violates the First and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution and federal Title IX rules, signaling an “extraordinary government intrusion on the free speech and equal protection rights” in public schools.

In the 80-page complaint, the attorneys attack what they perceive as “vagueness” in the legislation, writing that “nobody knows exactly what the statutory language covers.” The lawsuit argues that law puts the local plaintiffs “and countless others in danger” due to “disproportionality high risks to their mental and physical health” they face as members of the LGBTQ community.

The Law Not Only Stigmatizes and Silences Those Vulnerable Students

Exacerbating risks to their welfare, but also threatens school officials who foster a safe and inclusive environment for them,” attorneys wrote in the complaint.

The “Parental Rights in Education” bill, FL HB1557 (22R), prohibits teachers from leading classroom lessons on gender identity or sexual orientation for students in kindergarten through third grade. It also bans such lessons for older students unless they are “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”

The legislation additionally requires schools to notify parents if there is a change in services for a student or any additional monitoring for their “mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being” and creates an outlet for legal action if these rules are broken by school officials.

“We are going to defend this vigorously,” DeSantis said at a press conference on Thursday in West Palm Beach. “We’ll be successful on that.”

Taryn Fenske, DeSantis’ communications director, said in a statement that the lawsuit is a “Hail-Mary to undermine parental rights in Florida.”

“This calculated, politically motivated, virtue-signaling lawsuit is meritless, and we will defend the legality of parents to protect their young children from sexual content in Florida public schools,” she said.

Republicans contend the legislation is necessary to protect the rights of parents in educating their children.

State Republicans, including DeSantis, have been steadfast in their support for the parental rights bill, fighting with Democrats and entertainment giant Disney over its opposition. At least two GOP lawmakers pledged to return their campaign contributions to the California-based corporation, which also halted political donations to Florida. Disney employs tens of thousands of workers in Florida and has a flagship amusement part in Orlando.

“I just think Disney’s posturing has alienated a lot of people. So the political influence they are used to welding, I think has dissipated,” said DeSantis during a separate Thursday press conference about 30 minutes outside of Jacksonville.