New guidance released by Sarasota County, Florida stated teachers must contact the parents of students who come out as LGBTQ+.
The district announced the plan in alignment of the Parental Rights in Education, dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
The changes were documented in a memo sent to teachers and administrators, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Students in the county must have received a parent or guardian’s permission to use a different name or pronouns at school.
Any changes will then have to be requested by the student to school staff.
Administrators and school councillors will also be notified.
Once the changes are approved, the school will meet with the family and put a ‘Gender Support Plan’ into action.
If permission for a name and/or pronoun change is denied, students will continue to be addressed by the wrong name and misgendered.
The guidance stated: “If a student tells us that [they] are gay/gender questioning/trans, etc, parent must be notified.”
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
This is a drastic shift from the district’s previous guidance, which stipulated it was “up to the student, and the student alone, to share her/his/their identity.”
The revised guidance was not publicly distributed. It was only sent to school district staff.
School board member Bridget Ziegler stated: “The change is a win for parents, students, teachers and allows for the integrity of our public education institutions to be restored.”
‘Don’t Say Gay’ came into effect from 1 July, and has been already had an impact on queer people.
Online abuse directed at the LGBTQ+ community has risen over 400% since the bill passed.
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