One school district in Florida is advising teachers in same-sex relationships to avoid talking about their partners as educators grapple with a new law by Gov. Ron DeSantis that bans certain discussions around sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms.
Michael Ollendorff, a spokesperson for the Orange County Public Schools told the Washington Post that teachers can have photos of their same-sex partners in their classrooms but they should avoid talking about them because it “could be deemed classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity.”
In May, DeSantis signed HB 1557 into law which critics called the ‘Don’t Say Gay bill’. It bans “instructions” about sexual orientation or gender identity “in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
If a parent believes that a teacher violates the law, the parent can sue the school district for damages or attorney fees. The law went into effect on July 1.
School districts have reasons to worry because a situation where parents demanded “consequences” for a teacher talking about his same-sex partner actually happened in May this year.
Robert Thollander, a gay sixth grade science teacher in Orlando simply acknowledged his marriage in school and drew the ire of parents, NBC News reports.
“He married a man. This alone is not an issue. Sharing the details … with all his 6th grade students is the issue,” the parents wrote in a letter sent to their children’s school board in May. “It was not appropriate. Many of these students felt very uncomfortable with the conversations and shared this with their families.”
The parents argued that if Thollander had said “he will be out for a few days because he was getting married, no problem,” the letter continued, “but to discuss the details and create an uncomfortable situation for the students with no benefit to teaching his subject matter is inappropriate.”
But, Thollander actually got married in March 2021 and all he did was acknowledged his marriage when he was asked.
The school district took no action against him and actually defended him. Thollander never returned to the classroom after 11 years of teaching.
Orange County Public schools is not the only school district struggling with the new law ahead of the start of the new school year.
The school board in Miami-Dade County have no idea which textbooks students are allowed to use in sex ed and a Palm Beach County teacher told The Post that one of her colleagues left out the sexual orientation of a historical figure in her lessons.
