Florida state senator considers expanding Parental Rights in Education law

Law currently restricts sexual topics from curriculum in grades K-3

Florida Senators Kathleen Passidomo, left, and Audrey Gibson talk during a legislative session at the Florida State Capitol, Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) (Wilfredo Lee, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The Florida Senate president said she is considering expanding the Parental Rights in Education law to additional grade levels in schools.

The law, which prohibits discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom, currently applies to grade levels between Kindergarten and third grade.

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Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said she is considering extending those restrictions to middle school-aged students, as well.

“I am a parent. Of course, my kids are older, but I want to know what is going on in schools, and I want to be able to be consulted,” Passidomo said. “The schools are not supposed to be raising our kids. It should be the parents, and that is really what the intent of the bill was. They should be able to object to things that they object to.”

When Gov. DeSantis signed the bill into law in March, many opponents of the legislation feared it would be extended beyond third grade.

Republican Sen. Passidomo also said the language in the bill allows for reconsideration of all classroom instruction based on what the legislature deems as age appropriate. She added that she might consider expanding the rules up through sixth grade.

“The one thing that I think could be looked at is (that) we ended it at grades one through three. I don’t think I’d be supportive of high school because kids in high school are hopefully a little bit more mature, at least, they should be,” Passidomo said. “But, you know, the middle school, maybe going to sixth grade or something like that.”

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Troy graduated from California State University Northridge with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. He has reported on Mexican drug cartel violence on the El Paso/ Juarez border, nuclear testing facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory and severe Winter weather in Michigan.

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