It seems that liberals never let the truth get in the way of what they consider to be a good narrative, but rather, they twist it into a fabric of lies and deceit. Such is the case with Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill that received final passage in the Florida Senate on March 8 and which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law on March 28. The legislation has been under heavy fire by the left, and dutifully parroted throughout the mainstream media as the anti-LGBTQ "Don't Say Gay" bill, even though it contains no such reference. President Biden obligingly chimed in, calling the bill "hateful."

The bill passed the Florida Senate by a vote of 21-17 and by a margin of 69-47 last month in Florida's House of Representatives. The legislation is a win not only for Florida parents, but provides an example for parents across the country who have been fighting to wrest the education of their children from the clutches of public-school administrators and teachers' unions.

What's in the bill?

What CS/CS/HB 1557 actually does is require school districts to allow personnel to notify a parent about "his or her student's mental, emotional, or physical health or wellbeing, or a change in related services or monitoring, or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such information." The legislation further states: "School district personnel may not discourage or prohibit parental notification of and involvement in critical decisions affecting a student's mental, emotional, or physical health or wellbeing." The bill does make an allowance for failure to disclose if the danger of abuse or neglect in the home is strongly indicated.

The bill ensures that the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the education and control of their children is considered in all school district procedures, and it creates a cause of action that permits "declaratory and injunctive relief" if a parent's concerns are not addressed or corrected within 30 days.

The bulk of the Left's hysteria is focused on subsection 3, which reads: "Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

Despite the claims of Democrats, the bill does not ban the word "gay" in school settings, nor does it ban casual discussion of topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity. It does require schools to get parental permission before administering a well-being questionnaire or health screening to students in kindergarten through third grade, which is the opt-in provision sought after nationwide by many parents.

Disney gets into the act

On March 11, The Daily Citizen reported that Disney CEO Bob Chapek joined the chorus of jackals pretending that if this bill becomes law, it could, in Chapek's words, "be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary, and transgender kids and families." Chapek said he called the governor to "express our disappointment and concern," pledging that Disney "would be donating $5 million to LGBT activist groups."

Unbowed, DeSantis fired back:

• When you have companies that have made a fortune off being family friendly and catering to families and young kids, they should understand that parents of young kids do not want this injected into their kid's kindergarten classroom.


• You have companies, like at Disney, that are going to criticize parents' rights; they're going to criticize the fact that we don't want transgenderism in kindergarten, in first grade classrooms. If that's the hill they're going to die on, then how do they possibly explain lining their pockets from their relationship with the Communist Party of China? Because that's what they do, and they make a fortune, and they don't say a word about the really brutal practices that you see over there at the hands of the CCP.


• And so in Florida, our policies [have] got to be based on the best interest of Florida citizens, not on the musing of woke corporations.

According to Fox News, DeSantis also challenged a reporter for using the false "Don't Say Gay" label during a press conference just prior to the senate's approval of the measure. "Does it say that in the bill?" he demanded, adding: "It's why people don't trust people like you because you peddle false narratives."

The Fox report said Christina Pushaw, a DeSantis spokeswoman, similarly admonished an Associated Press reporter after the bill's passage. "What's the bill's real name?" she objected. "Does it mention the word ‘gay' or LGBT people at all? Are AP reporters expected to read legislation before writing about it?"

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