In April of 2022, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a law into measure known as the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill. The bill aims to prevent teaching and exposure of LGBTQ+ related topics within schools of children between kindergarten to third grade. These topics are deemed by the law as “not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” Since then, neighboring states are proceeding to create similar versions of the bill and target any class discussions of LGBTQ+ topics.

The bill was passed by Florida’s House of Representatives on Feb. 24, 2022 and by the state Senate on Mar. 8. One of the main reasons the bill was created was for parents to choose when they teach their children LGBTQ+ ideas and topics. According to npr.org, “During a press conference ahead of signing the law, DeSantis said teaching kindergarten-aged kids that ‘they can be whatever they want to be’ was “inappropriate” for children.” This in turn denies any sort of conversations and suppression of self-discovery for children that they may be understanding about themselves.

Along with this, the law also grants parents more opportunities to pursue legal action due to something that is being taught that they do not like. In response to the bill, groups supporting gay rights sued Florida over the law, along with Disney employees. Students across the country also walked out in protest to the introduction of the bill.