TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — A heated moment at the state’s board of education meeting broke out Wednesday when a woman was escorted out. The board was in the middle of considering several new rules that will have direct effects on classrooms across the state.
In a packed conference room, the board heard lengthy public comments as they discussed and later approved seven new rules for schools across the state. The rules are sparked by the Parental Rights in Education law that was passed earlier this year and went into effect in July.
“We are simply here to implement and execute the laws the legislature our elected officials passed. All this rule does is essentially update the rules that we have that say that teachers have to follow the law,” Benjamin Gibson, vice chairman of the state board of education said.
The seven rules were proposed and later approved. One of the most eye-catching rules allows disciplinary action against educators who talk about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. Teachers could lose their licenses if they break the rule. Another rule that sparked a fiery debate is about notifying parents if students are allowed to use a bathroom or locker room that is different from the student’s biological sex at birth.
Tom Grady, the chairman of the education board emphasized the rules’ simplicity, “What this rule is about as I understand it and members you can correct me: it’s parental notification. It’s not mandating what a bathroom looks like or doesn’t look like. It’s about parental notification,” Grady said.
