Poll: Did the Miami-Dade School Board get it right when they rejected the LGBTQ measures?
The Miami-Dade School Board voted 8-1 Wednesday night against recognizing October as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) History Month, even though the School Board voted last year to observe it.
The district observes various months throughout the year — Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Women’s History Month — to teach students about American history.
The School Board also defeated a measure to teach 12th-graders about two landmark Supreme Court decisions — Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 (recognizing same-sex marriage) and Bostock v. Clayton County in 2020 (finding an employer can’t fire someone for being gay or transgender). Opponents said teaching 12th-grade students about these landmark cases constituted “indoctrination,” although other U.S. Supreme Court decisions are regularly taught in American history courses.
The Board cited Florida’s new Parental Rights in Education law. In March, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law, prohibiting instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade.
Critics have called the law the ‘Don’t say gay’ bill and say it is having a chilling effect on what teachers can teach. And, they say, the law does not apply to what is taught to 12th-grade students.
Let us know your opinion about the measure in our poll. The results of this poll are not to be considered scientific, simply a way to gauge our readers’ perspectives.
This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 11:25 AM.
