In recent years, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made waves with his controversial policies and views, particularly with regards to education and LGBTQ+ rights. DeSantis’ latest legislation, which aims to ban the supposed teaching of critical race theory and impose restrictions on transgender individuals, has caused outrage among educators and LGBTQ+ advocates in the state.
DeSantis, who has built a national profile by courting the Republican party’s Trump-loving base, has made education reform a centerpiece of his nationwide agenda for “America’s revival”. However, critics argue that his policies, which include requiring all reading material in public schools to be reviewed by a “trained media specialist” to ensure they are “appropriate for the age level and group”, empower conservative groups to ban books they disagree with, even if they are age-appropriate.
Educators like 38-year veteran teacher Dale Falls have refused to comply with DeSantis’ policies, opting to conceal books in their classrooms with plain brown paper rather than submit them to the vetting process. Other educators have expressed concerns that DeSantis’ policies would eliminate all thought that diverges from his political platform.
In addition to his education policies, DeSantis has also proposed legislation that would limit the rights and freedoms of the state’s transgender population. House bill 1421, for example, would prohibit transgender individuals from amending their own birth certificates and eliminate transition-related care such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers for minors. The bill has been met with significant opposition from the LGBTQ+ community, with advocates calling it a “slate of hate” targeting democracy, abortion rights, and racial progress.
Some members of Florida’s transgender population have already experienced the effects of DeSantis’ policies. The hostile takeover of New College by six of DeSantis’s right-wing allies on its board of trustees earlier this year has made it difficult for some LGBTQ+ students to feel safe on campus. Many fear that if DeSantis doesn’t make it to the White House in 2024, he will continue to harm the state as governor.
As DeSantis continues to push his controversial policies, some educators predict a mass exodus of faculty and students from Florida’s system of higher education. While it remains to be seen whether DeSantis’ policies will strike a chord with voters in the Sunshine state and beyond, the impact on Florida’s education system and LGBTQ+ community is already being felt.