US States to Limit Discussion of Sexuality in Classrooms
2022-08-17
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1Students in the southern U.S. state of Florida returned to school last week under a new law that some social activists have criticized.
2The law is called the Parental Rights in Education Act.
3The law says it supports the "right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children."
4But critics call it the "Don't Say Gay Law."
5They worry about the bill's effects on gay students and their families.
6The law limits discussion of sexual and gender orientation subjects in classrooms with young children.
7Under the law, students in kindergarten through grade three may not be taught about sexual or gender orientation.
8The law also bars public schools in the state from teaching about sexual or gender orientation that is not "age appropriate or developmentally appropriate..."
9The law also permits parents to bring legal action against school systems if they disagree with what they teach.
10"We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in March, when he signed the law.
11He called teaching sexual subjects to very young students a way to "sexualize" young children.
12The group Parents Defending Education is based in Virginia.
13It says on its website that subjects like sex education and critical race theory are "not only at war with basic American values, but also with childhood."
14Critics of the Florida law say it is unclear and difficult to understand.
15The Florida Department of Education says the part of the law that limits discussion to age appropriate or developmentally appropriate materials will go into effect when guidance is released from the state.
16Will Larkins is a high school student in Florida.
17The New York Times published an opinion piece he wrote about the new law.
18He said it will make teachers less likely "to talk at all with students about gender identity and sexuality..."
19He added: "For many of my friends in dangerous situations because of their sexuality or gender identity, school has been a space where they could be themselves."
20President Joe Biden's administration called the law "discrimination, plain and simple" in a July statement.
21The statement added that it "encourages bullying and threatens students' mental health, physical safety, and well-being."
22The Biden administration also expressed concern about "dangerous nationwide" activities of Republican lawmakers.
23It said they are "targeting LGBTQI+ students, educators, and individuals..."
24On its website, NPR said that more than 12 states have introduced legislation similar to Florida's bill.
25A law passed in Alabama that also bans discussion of gender and sexual identity before fifth grade.
26Eva Goldfarb is a sex educator and professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
27She told VOA that the bills are an "all-out assault on sex education."
28She said sex educators have been wrongfully accused of sexualizing young children, and that instruction is already age-appropriate.
29"The purpose of sex education is to protect young people from being sexually exploited and having bad sexual health outcomes," she said.
30Goldfarb added that it is important to have early, age-appropriate discussions of subjects like sex and gender identity.
31She said they will be prepared to discuss those topics in more detail when they are in high school.
32"The reason you need to start sex education in elementary school is...for the same reason you start teaching math in elementary school," she said.
33"No one would say, let's first start teaching algebra in eighth grade without first teaching addition and subtraction and multiplication."
34Christine Soyong Harley is the director of Washington D.C.-based SEICUS, a sex education organization that supports teaching gender and sexual orientation.
35She said that when students do not receive teaching on these subjects in school, they often turn to the internet or social media services like TikTok for more information.
36She said some information online can be informative, but it is often misleading or incorrect.
37Soyong Harley also said internet searches for sex and gender topics often expose kids to pornography.
38She said 73 other bills have been introduced that protect "parents' rights" and limit discussion of "divisive concepts."
39That could mean anything from sexuality, to discussions of racism or American history.
40"These are bills that attempt to weaponize parents' religious beliefs or personally held opinions to coerce schools" to accept teachings that fall outside of normal ideas, Soyong Harley said.
41I'm Dan Novak.
1Students in the southern U.S. state of Florida returned to school last week under a new law that some social activists have criticized. 2The law is called the Parental Rights in Education Act. The law says it supports the "right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children." 3But critics call it the "Don't Say Gay Law." They worry about the bill's effects on gay students and their families. The law limits discussion of sexual and gender orientation subjects in classrooms with young children. 4Under the law, students in kindergarten through grade three may not be taught about sexual or gender orientation. The law also bars public schools in the state from teaching about sexual or gender orientation that is not "age appropriate or developmentally appropriate..." The law also permits parents to bring legal action against school systems if they disagree with what they teach. 5"We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in March, when he signed the law. He called teaching sexual subjects to very young students a way to "sexualize" young children. 6The group Parents Defending Education is based in Virginia. It says on its website that subjects like sex education and critical race theory are "not only at war with basic American values, but also with childhood." 7Critics of the Florida law say it is unclear and difficult to understand. The Florida Department of Education says the part of the law that limits discussion to age appropriate or developmentally appropriate materials will go into effect when guidance is released from the state. 8Will Larkins is a high school student in Florida. The New York Times published an opinion piece he wrote about the new law. He said it will make teachers less likely "to talk at all with students about gender identity and sexuality..." He added: "For many of my friends in dangerous situations because of their sexuality or gender identity, school has been a space where they could be themselves." 9President Joe Biden's administration called the law "discrimination, plain and simple" in a July statement. The statement added that it "encourages bullying and threatens students' mental health, physical safety, and well-being." 10The Biden administration also expressed concern about "dangerous nationwide" activities of Republican lawmakers. It said they are "targeting LGBTQI+ students, educators, and individuals..." 11On its website, NPR said that more than 12 states have introduced legislation similar to Florida's bill. A law passed in Alabama that also bans discussion of gender and sexual identity before fifth grade. 12Eva Goldfarb is a sex educator and professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey. She told VOA that the bills are an "all-out assault on sex education." She said sex educators have been wrongfully accused of sexualizing young children, and that instruction is already age-appropriate. 13"The purpose of sex education is to protect young people from being sexually exploited and having bad sexual health outcomes," she said. 14Goldfarb added that it is important to have early, age-appropriate discussions of subjects like sex and gender identity. She said they will be prepared to discuss those topics in more detail when they are in high school. 15"The reason you need to start sex education in elementary school is...for the same reason you start teaching math in elementary school," she said. "No one would say, let's first start teaching algebra in eighth grade without first teaching addition and subtraction and multiplication." 16Christine Soyong Harley is the director of Washington D.C.-based SEICUS, a sex education organization that supports teaching gender and sexual orientation. She said that when students do not receive teaching on these subjects in school, they often turn to the internet or social media services like TikTok for more information. 17She said some information online can be informative, but it is often misleading or incorrect. Soyong Harley also said internet searches for sex and gender topics often expose kids to pornography. 18She said 73 other bills have been introduced that protect "parents' rights" and limit discussion of "divisive concepts." That could mean anything from sexuality, to discussions of racism or American history. 19"These are bills that attempt to weaponize parents' religious beliefs or personally held opinions to coerce schools" to accept teachings that fall outside of normal ideas, Soyong Harley said. 20I'm Dan Novak. 21Dan Novak wrote this story for VOA Learning English. 22_________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24gay -adj. sexually attracted to someone of the same sex 25(sexual or gender) orientation - n. how someone thinks about their sex or sexuality 26indoctrination - n. to teach someone to fully accept certain ideas, beliefs or opinions 27encourage - v. to make something more likely to happen 28bully - v. to frighten or threaten someone 29LGBTQI+ - n (abrev.) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, queer, intersex, plus 30exploit - v. to use someone in an unfair or harmful way 31pornography - n. media that show people in a sexual way or carrying out sex acts 32coerce - v. to force someone to do something 33___________________________________________________________________ 34We want to hear from you. 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