Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' bill lawsuit in deal Gov. Ron DeSantis claims is a 'major win' for his conservative agenda - as teachers are given new guidelines for discussing sexual orientation and gender ID in classrooms

The state of Florida has settled a lawsuit over the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill that Governor Ron DeSantis claims is a 'major win' for his conservative agenda in the Sunshine State. 

The settlement clarifies what is allowed in Florida classrooms following passage two years ago of the law prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.

In a statement, DeSantis's office described the deal as a 'major win' with the law formally known as the Parental Rights in Education Act remaining intact.

'We fought hard to ensure this law couldn't be maligned in court, as it was in the public arena by the media and large corporate actors,' said Ryan Newman, an attorney for the state of Florida. 

'We are victorious, and Florida´s classrooms will remain a safe place under the Parental Rights in Education Act.'

The state of Florida has settled a lawsuit over the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill that Governor Ron DeSantis claims is a 'major win' for his conservative agenda in the Sunshine State

Opponents said the law had created confusion about whether teachers could identity themselves as LGBTQ+ or if they even could have rainbow stickers in classrooms.

Other states used the Florida law as a template to pass prohibitions on classroom instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation. Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and North Carolina are among the states with versions of the law.

The law has been championed by the Republican governor since before its passage in 2022 by the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature. 

It barred instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through the third grade, and it was expanded to all grades last year.

Republican lawmakers had argued that parents should broach these subjects with children and that the law protected children from being taught about inappropriate material.

Plaintiffs Rabbi Amy Morrison and Cecile Houry, a lesbian couple from Miami-Dade County, were also claiming positives from the decision for the near-term. 

'It's going to make a huge difference because the law was so vague that people stayed away from everything,' Houry told the Tampa Bay Times. 

'Here it really defines what is not allowed, and everything else that is allowed. It's going to change students' experience.'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs the Parental Rights in Education bill, also known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, at Classical Preparatory School, March 28, 2022

Plaintiffs Rabbi Amy Morrison and Cecile Houry, a lesbian couple from Miami-Dade County, were also claiming positives from the decision for the near-term

'It's going to make a huge difference because the law was so vague that people stayed away from everything,' Houry said

She joked that the couple's seven-year-old daughter 'doesn't stop talking about everything' to everyone, including having two mothers, and the law's specifics will keep Houry from worrying ' about everything that comes out of her mouth.'

Opponents of the law as originally written also said it created a chilling effect in classrooms. 

Some teachers said they were unsure if they could mention or display a photo of their same-sex partner in the classroom. 

In some cases, books dealing with LGBTQ+ topics were removed from classrooms and lines mentioning sexual orientation were excised from school musicals. 

The Miami-Dade County School Board in 2022 decided not to adopt a resolution recognizing LGBTQ History Month, even though it had done so a year earlier.

Under the terms of the settlement, the Florida Board of Education will send instructions to every school district saying the Florida law doesn't prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ people, nor prevent anti-bullying rules on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or disallow Gay-Straight Alliance groups. 

Students and teachers can discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms, provided it´s not part of instruction.

The settlement also spells out that the law is neutral - meaning what applies to LGBTQ+ people also applies to heterosexual people - and that it doesn't apply to library books not being used for instruction in the classroom.

Marchers wave flags as they walk at the St. Pete Pier during a protest of the 'Don't Say Gay' bill in March of 2022

Protesters of the state's 'Don't Say Gay' law 

The law also triggered the ongoing legal battles between DeSantis and Disney over control of the governing district for Walt Disney World in central Florida after DeSantis took control of the government in what the company described as retaliation for its opposition to the legislation 

The law also doesn't apply to books with incidental references to LGBTQ+ characters or same-sex couples, 'as they are not instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity any more than a math problem asking students to add bushels of apples is instruction on apple farming,' according to the settlement.

'What this settlement does, is, it re-establishes the fundamental principal, that I hope all Americans agree with, which is every kid in this country is entitled to an education at a public school where they feel safe, their dignity is respected and where their families and parents are welcomed,' Roberta Kaplan, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said in an interview. 

'This shouldn't be a controversial thing.'

The law also triggered the ongoing legal battles between DeSantis and Disney over control of the governing district for Walt Disney World in central Florida after DeSantis took control of the government in what the company described as retaliation for its opposition to the legislation. 

DeSantis touted the fight with Disney during his run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, which he ended earlier this year.

The civil rights attorneys sued Florida education officials on behalf of teachers, students and parents, claiming the law was unconstitutional, but the case was dismissed last year by a federal judge in Tallahassee who said they lacked standing to sue. 

The case was appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Kaplan said they believed the appellate court would have reversed the lower court´s decision, but continuing the lawsuit would have delayed any resolution for several more years.

'The last thing we wanted for the kids in Florida was more delay,' Kaplan said.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned Florida's expansion of its 'don't say gay' law, accusing the state of censoring classes in a reverse form of cancel culture

The Parental Rights in Education law — nicknamed the 'Don't Say Gay' law by detractors — was signed last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis and sparked a firestorm across the country

President Joe Biden told Daily Show guest host Kal Penn from an interview at the White House that Florida laws related to LGBTQ rights are 'sinful' and 'cruel'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is spearheading a slew of laws that would prevent minors from receiving transgender health care and surgeries 

The White House issued stinging condemnation of Florida's expansion of its 'don't say gay' law, essentially accusing the state of censoring classes in a reverse form of cancel culture.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described the move as 'dystopian.'

'Under threat of having their licenses revoked, gay teachers have been forced to take down pictures of their spouses from their desks and censor their classroom materials,' she said.

'Censoring our classes is not how public education is supposed to work in a free country. 

'Conservative politicians love to complain about the so-called "cancel culture," all while threatening teachers with losing their jobs if they teach something that the MAGA extremists don't agree with.'