New amendment to Florida bill would require schools to out LGBT students to parents

The Florida state representative who introduced the controversial "Don't Say Gay" bill added a new amendment on Tuesday that would require schools to disclose students' LGBT identities to parents, USA Today reports.
Under the new amendment, school principals would be required to inform parents if they learn that a student identifies as LGBT. In cases with the potential for parental "abuse, abandonment, or neglect," schools must "develop a plan, using all available governmental resources, to disclose such information within (six) weeks" and to "facilitate disclosure between the student and parent through an open dialogue in a safe, supportive, and judgment-free environment."
Florida state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D), who is openly gay, wrote on Twitter that the amendment would "make it even more dangerous for vulnerable kids."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Florida state Rep. Joe Harding (R) introduced HB 1557 — officially called the "Parental Rights in Education" bill — last month. The bill, as originally filed, would give parents easier access to their children's school records and prohibit school districts from "encourag[ing] classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels."
An updated version changes "primary grade levels" to "certain grade levels" to be determined by Florida's Department of Education. According to Time, the phrase "primary grade levels" has no statutory definition under Florida law. Harding said he intended it to apply to "kindergarten through third grade." The bill would also empower parents to sue violators.
"We just want to make sure that teachers promote that discussion at the right age level, and we want to make sure that parents are kept in the loop," Harding said in a video posted to Twitter.
The House bill is being debated on the floor, while the Senate bill is still making its way through committees. Republicans control both houses of Florida's legislature.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has signaled that he supports the bill, according to NBC News.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
June 28 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include stupid wars, a critical media, and mask standards
-
Thai fish pie with crispy turmeric potatoes recipe
The Week Recommends Tasty twist on the Lancashire hot pot is given a golden glow
-
Palestine Action: protesters or terrorists?
Talking Point Damaging RAF equipment at Brize Norton blurs line between activism and sabotage, but proscription is a drastic step
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from