After about six hours of emotional public commentary and discussion among the Miami-Dade School Board members, the decision was made not to recognize October as LGBTQ History Month, as they had in 2021.
A non-academic, mostly symbolic item that passed last year 7-1, failed this year 8-1, revealing a seismic shift in policy driven by the state’s sweeping swing to the far right.
Even the School Board members who would normally support such a measure (read: Democrats) voted against LGBTQ+ History Month because, they said, it could be in conflict with the new Parental Rights in Education law, also called the “Don’t Say Gay” law, passed this year by the state legislature. It prohibits classroom instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade.
“The difference from last year to this year is the law,” said Vice Chair Steve Gallon, who has a gay sibling. He said his personal feelings haven’t changed, but he felt that the measure “runs afoul of the law,” he said.
There was another difference: This year’s LGBTQ+ History Month approval would also encourage teachers in 12th grade to teach the Supreme Court cases dealing with gay marriage and transgender rights.
Member Lucia Baez-Geller, a teacher elected in 2020 who sponsored the item — and was the only one who voted for it — tried to assure her colleagues that the recognition would not be in conflict with the “Don’t Say” law. Seniors could opt out of the Supreme Court lessons, she said, and the rest of it was not instructional. She even moved to amend the motion so that it would read to be in compliance with the Parental Rights law, but that motion failed also.
Member Marta Perez — who was ousted last month by a candidate that was backed and funded by Team DeSantis — said she did not like these “social items” and thought the board members should stop bringing agenda items that “have nothing to do with reading, writing and arithmatic.”
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Ladra is not sure if she realized how ridiculous she sounded. We encourage schools to go above and beyond reading, writing and arithmatic, which everyone knows are not enough to compete these days. And we celebrate Hispanic Heritage and Black History months, among others — like Anti Bullying Month.
The commentary was passionate, emotional and, often, vitriolic.
One gay man wore a pink triangle like the Nazis in Germany forced gays to wear in the 1930s. Almost 100 years ago. Many people talked about needing children to feel safe and included. One former student said he used the f-word when he was in high school and regrets his treatment of the LGBTQ community, adding that he may have acted differently if there had been more awareness and education.
On the other side, people said they would prefer to use limited resources on academic endeavors to make-up for the loss of proficiency due to the pandemic and lock down. One man mentioned sodom and gomorrah and said “God will punish the world again” if the measure passed. Another man said it would lead to to abuse, gender confusion and sexual grooming.
“Yes, sexual grooming,” he repeated, because even he knows how ludicrous it sounds.
A lot of people — including School Board Member Lubby Navarro — talked about religion. “I am someone of deep faith,” said Navarro, who was attacked when she proposed a National Day of Prayer. “When I serve here, I think about the people who I represent, people who, at the core of their being, is faith.
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“My obligation is to follow state law. The law changed this year and said that parents have rights… something I’ve always been saying,” Navarro said. She was absent for the 7-1 vote in 2021. Member Christi Fraga was the only one who voted against it both years.
But that’s BS. She would have voted against it anyway.
Andrea Pita Mendez, the student representative on the board, seemed very stunned by the hateful comments made by some people in the name of religion.
“I am Catholic,” she said, pulling out a Virgen de Guadalupe hanging from her neck. But she agreed with the item and said both were not exclusive. She said she spoke with the students about it and was told that they supported the naming of October LGBTQ+ History Month.
She also had a little admonishment for Navarro, who said the school board’s clients are parents.
“They’re not,” Pita Mendez said. “They are the students who sit there every day. Our students told me they support this item.”
Ladra hopes she runs for school board soon.
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On every controversial subject you want to bring up, it is always those that have never been discriminated against that discriminate, if they had been a point of hate for any reason beyond what was naturally given to them (you may say by God if you want)…then they would understand the absurdity of not defending gay people, not just allowing them to be themselves. I say it should be ”celebrate LGBTQ people” for their advances to the world over the centuries, hate is hate but if you have never experienced then you will not have a clue how insane it is and consequently make the wrong decisions. Thank ‘God’ we are slowly taking over, I’m sure the kids in school today when they can vote will take your asses out of those seats, they are watching what cruel bastards you are and have been in the past, kids recognize hate better than you corrupt pols LOL.
“One gay man wore a pink triangle like the Nazis in Germany forced gays to wear in the 1930s. Almost 100 years ago. Many people talked about needing children to feel safe and included. One former student said he used the f-word when he was in high school and regrets his treatment of the LGBTQ community, adding that he may have acted differently if there had been more awareness and education.”
This is religion for these folks… honestly, why should my kids go to school to hear about any of this stuff? They are there to learn math, learn how to write, and learn some world history.. not to be pushed some agenda that tries to convince them that men can get pregnant and people can be neither men or women.
Stay in your lane.
” Sharia law is here. The taliban have taken over the asylum.”
” Worse, Florida residents are bigots and cowards.”
Lol no .
Not into any religion but If critics of this step back a bit and look at it calmly I can not fathom how anyone can see this as a bad thing .
CHILDREN should not be taught this , they do not go to school at this age to even discuss this .
The parents can teach the kids at home whatever they want .
I do not have any kids but had no idea that this was being taught or mentioned to children , its absurd that in school this was ever even mentioned to children .
” It prohibits classroom instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade.”
Simply shameful.
Sympathy for the Devil wrote:
“Whatever happened to separation of church and state and common sense? The right wants to shove Christianity and piousness down our throat, the left want to shove an equality agenda that dehumanizes everyone to one common denominator EQUITY.”
I agree with you completely, which is why there is no solution to this problem unless we break the government-forced education monopoly. Education should be completely private, funded by the customers who choose one school philosophy over another.
It is time to break the school board racket and replace them with every single family making its own decision for their children in whatever school best reflects their values.
Whatever happened to separation of church and state and common sense? The right wants to shove Christianity and piousness down our throat, the left want to shove an equality agenda that dehumanizes everyone to one common denominator EQUITY.
Those on the right have to realize that gay, bi and trans people exist and that their personal choices (or genetic profile which comes from the creator) should be respected. The left has to realize that a majority of Americans are OK with live and let live, but don’t want a minority views shoved in their face 24/7.
I grew up in a place where people spoke their minds, argued even duked it out once in a while. But the most important part is no one was censored (sticks and stones….) for “hurting someone’s feelings.” Only through open arguments without censorship can bring resolution or at least let everyone know where everyone stands. This modern day censorship and obfuscation of language creates repression and resentment which eventually finds an escape valve or just blows the lid off of everything.
Unless we as a society can regain our sanity and sense of balance what awaits us is not pretty.
Wow… Some of the comments here are hysterical, in the bad sense of the word. Once again, another article pandering to the extreme left. Why don’t we celebrate European heritage for a month? Or Asian heritage? Why only Black and Hispanic? What about White or heterosexual heritage? The Board got it right for once. Stop trying to shove people’s lifestyle down our throats. The fact that we respect such tendencies doesn’t mean we need to agree with them. Perhaps those “students” that wanted this lifestyle celebrated should come forward and speak at a Board meeting, in full disclosure and out in the open. How about that?
We need to highlight diversity of people living with us and/or around us. Specially teach children early on respect of all of us, that way, our society will not face these passionate confrontations.
Oops…There goes another liberal virtue signaling opportunity. This was not a casualty of “Don’t Say Gay”. It is a casualty of Americans begin fed up with Marxist deconstructionist movement that attempts to undermine every single founding principle in American culture.
Here, the principle being upheld is simply that people are not, according to the Founding Fathers, to be classified by this or that feature attained at birth (including race, aristocratic title, etc). Once you start classifying and exalting (or degrading) people by birth category, you are on a slippery slope that calls for differential treatment according to those involuntary characteristics.
Wow. No wonder voters in Florida elect a Trump, a Rubio, A Scott and a DeSantis. Florida has uneducated residents. Worse, Florida residents are bigots and cowards. These board members and most of the speakers are crazy. They are scared to death of gay people. The hearing was embarrassing. On the other hand, maybe the sponsor should have limited her request to a Week, not a month. Perhaps LGBTQ History Month was too big an ask?
Don’t say Gay Just Say Queer. ! Keep The Closet Doors Close !
I remember the US when I arrived over 60 years ago. It was a beacon for people who wanted to “own” their lives, to realize their human potential, whatever it may be. It was a society that respected the many religions that humans can conceive, the many ethnicities that fought each other to death in other parts of the planet and lived next to each other in our cities, the most radical thoughts could be freely expressed without being silenced, etc.
The action of the education board simply reflects the tragic polarization of our society and the increasing imposition of religious values (of a single brand) over the entire population. As I see it, that is a recipe for disaster. Intolerance is tearing our society apart.
I have advocated on this forum that the ONLY way to resolve this issue and many others related to the education of our children is to completely dismantle the public education system and to replace it with a completely private education industry. There must be a complete separation of government and education as we once championed a separation of church and state.
Sharia law is here. The taliban have taken over the asylum.