By Eesha Pendharkar, Photo: Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press, EducationWeek, March 18, 2022
Florida’s legislature passed controversial bills in the past two weeks affecting conversations about race and racism in the classroom, as well as restricting younger students’ access to lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The bills—widely referred to as an anti-"woke” bill and a “Don’t Say Gay” bill—have been covered extensively in national media and even late night television. However, the actual language in the two bills is vague on details about what teachers could or couldn’t teach in the classroom. And in a highly polarized political environment, the bills’ details often have been mischaracterized.
The two measures are part of a nationwide, largely conservative push to limit lessons on systemic racism, sexism, gender and sexuality, and LGBTQ+ topics. Fifteen states have passed similar legislation over the past year, and 26 others have introduced bills attempting to restrict these lessons.
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