U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Tuesday appeared to threaten Florida with civil rights action, continuing to push the false narrative that the Sunshine State’s HB 1557 is “targeting vulnerable gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex children.”
“Leaders in Florida are prioritizing hateful bills that hurt some of the students most in need,” Cardona’s statement said. “The Department of Education has made clear that all schools receiving federal funding must follow federal civil rights law, including Title IX’s protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki also added onto Cardona’s narrative, posting to Twitter, “[President Biden] and his Administration stand with LGBTQI+ students everywhere, including in Florida where they have passed hateful legislation targeting vulnerable students.”
Establishment media outlets and other left-wing actors are attempting to dub the bill the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” despite the fact that it does not mention sexual identity at all and has a strong emphasis on notifying parents about their children’s health concerns.
White House Deputy Communications Director Pili Tobar referred to it as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, saying “The President wants #LGBTQI+ young people who may be feeling scared or alone to know that they are loved exactly for who they are, and that he won’t stop fighting for the protections and safety they deserve.”
The bill appears to be a response to the injection of gender theory into early stages of primary education, introducing children to adult sexual content from an early age.
As Breitbart News reported, the bill actually protects K-3 children from forced instruction on sexuality. “Neither Psaki nor the White House has even produced any evidence that there are self-identified “LGBTQI+” students among the kindergarteners and first through third grade pupils who are protected by, not attacked by, the Florida legislation,” the report said.
Florida’s bill also puts a heavy emphasis on parental rights — something that became a juggernaut political issue in 2021.
The bill, aimed to “reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children,” also prevents schools and school districts from “prohibiting a parent from accessing certain records.”
American school districts have been exposed for starting to transition children at school, without the knowledge or consent of their parents. Florida’s bill would require parents to be notified of such critical mental health information.
HB 1557 would prevent “a school district from adopting procedures or student support forms that prohibit school district personnel from notifying a parent about specified information or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such information,” the bill says, adding that it would also prohibit “school district personnel from discouraging or prohibiting parental notification and involvement in critical decisions affecting a student’s mental, emotional, or physical well-being.”
As Breitbart News reported:
“You actually look at the bill, and it says no sexual instruction in grades pre-k through three. And so how many parents want their kindergarteners to have transgenderism or something injected into classroom instruction?” DeSantis asked.
“And so I think those are very young kids. I think the legislature is basically trying to give parents assurance that, you know, they’re going to be able to go and this stuff’s not going to be there,” he said, noting that — despite the left’s narrative — there’s “nothing in the bill that says anything about you can’t say or this say [sic].”
“It’s basically saying for our youngest students — 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6 years and 7 – do you really want them to be being taught about — and this is any sexual stuff, but I think clearly right now we see a lot of focus on the transgenderism, telling kids that they may be able to pick genders and all that,” he explained.
It is unclear what sort of action Cardona or the White House plan on taken, given what is actually in the bill.
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.
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