‘Attack on educators’— teachers react to ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill | Miami Herald

Dannielle Boyer has no plans to dismantle the safe space she’s created in her classroom for students.

“I’ve always been an advocate and fought for students in the [LGBTQ+] community to feel comfortable and free,” the Miami Northwestern Senior High teacher told the Herald. While holding back tears, she said, “I don’t want my students to feel as though they have to live in fear and can’t be who they are.”

Her comments came hours after the Florida Senate in a 22-17 vote passed the “Parental Rights in Education’ bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, earlier Tuesday.

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The bill bars K-3 lesson plans that discuss sexual orientation or gender identity. Student-led discussions in the classroom that address the topics, however, are allowed. Whether the bill will have a silencing effect on students and teachers in fourth grade and above is still unknown.

The bill, which passed the Senate mostly on party lines, as it did in the House, is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis this week.

Boyer’s sentiments mirror what a handful of educators across Miami-Dade told the Herald Tuesday afternoon following the vote: Despite the bill’s trajectory, many teachers plan to continue creating safe spaces for their students and having discussions about their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“I know firsthand the students who have made tremendous strides to be proud of who they are,” said Alexandria Martin, a teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High. “It’s a sad day for education and for our Legislature because I believe they’ve taken our state backwards.”

‘Attack on educators,’ union head says

For United Teachers of Dade President Karla Hernandez-Mats, the bill is not only a waste of taxpayer dollars, it’s insulting to teachers because it’s addressing topics absent from state curriculum.

“The rhetoric about teachers is absurd. Teachers haven’t been teaching this,” she said. Moreover, she said, teachers go to work every day to ensure all children feel welcomed and safe. “This is an attack on educators. It’s unfortunate. This is political pandering because [lawmakers] are trying to move their base.”

Joy Jackson, a teacher at Robert Renick Education Center in Miami Gardens and a 47-year educator, shared Hernandez-Mats’ sentiments. Students in lower grades don’t have sex-education classes, she said; the bill has “no logical meaning.”

A student’s sexual orientation or gender identity has “nothing to do with me educating you,” said Jackson, who is also a pastor. “But [lawmakers] have their own agendas they want to get across, so they come up with this.”

Martin, the Carol City High teacher, agreed: It’s a “hyper-political bill. There is no rationale for this additional language when we have this language already.”

Aside from the effects the bill will have on teachers and students, Hernandez-Mats said it will have a negative impact on the teaching profession. The effort to curtail certain classroom conversations — with support from lawmakers and the governor — will weaken efforts to recruit and retain educators, Hernandez-Mats said.

“Being attacked on things that are not even real” is yet another reason for people to leave the classroom,” she said.

Fear over silencing teachers, retaining them

Despite the bill’s language to address curriculum discussions in grades K-3, many teachers, including Liz Morales, a teacher at Felix Varela Senior High School and sponsor of the schools’ Gay-Straight Alliance, say it could have a silencing effect on teachers in higher-level grades, too.

“I think it could create a lot of fear among teachers and school personnel, like counselors,” she said. That’s because the bill also grants parents the ability to sue school districts if they believe their child’s school has violated the measure’s provisions.

That’s what concerns Martin. Though most teachers, she believes, will want to continue providing safe spaces for students and engaging in conversation, some “may feel less inclined if they don’t feel like their school district is behind them, and that’s a scary situation.”

And that’s especially true for early career teachers. With the minimal pay and “all of these additional stressors,” Martin worries about the longevity of teachers.

Nevertheless, educators agreed most teachers will continue to foster a safe, welcoming environment for students.

At Jackson’s school, for example, most counselors have signs and logos on their doors signaling to students that their office is a safe space, she said.

She believes others, too, will continue to hang that banner to support students “because that’s what we do,” she said. “We protect them.”

This story was originally published March 08, 2022 8:04 PM.