Miami-Dade School Board Opposes Recognizing LGBTQ History Month

Opponents argue the proposed curriculum violates the new Parental Rights in Education law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March

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The Miami-Dade County Public Schools board majorly opposed a measure to recognize and observe October as LGBTQ History Month.

Eight board members voted no on the measure Wednesday night. The only "yes" vote was from Lucia Baez-Geller, who sponsored the item.

The measure was approved last year but was up for approval again. The opposition and renewal come after the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law — titled officially as the Parental Rights in Education bill — which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis back in March. It specifically prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade.

"It was clear here today that we were going to follow the law, and the Parental Rights bill is very clear that this type of imposition should not be imposed on our children, especially in our elementary schools, and an endorsement district-wide was in direct violation of the Parental Rights bill," said board member Christi Fraga, who opposed the measure.

The measure would have directed the superintendent to explore and provide information and resources to 12th grade social studies teachers about landmark Supreme Court cases, such as one that recognized same-sex marriage and another that ruled employers couldn't fire workers for being gay or transgender.

"The landmark cases that we are asking to include are American history," Baez-Geller said earlier Wednesday. "They are the law, and that’s why we’re studying them and we know that the state and all the laws support this being studied in the classroom."

Baez-Geller explained that teachers wouldn’t have been required to teach this and students could have opted out.

"I'm disappointed that the school board is letting the politics make their decisions for them," said one Miami-Dade teacher who wanted the measure to pass. "I believe personal beliefs don't have a place in the school system."

Opponents argue the proposed curriculum violates the new Parental Rights in Education law by imposing "values some people might not be comfortable with."

"I think what we need to understand is that there shouldn’t be one set of singular ideologies imposed on anyone similar to faith," Fraga said earlier Wednesday. "We have to keep certain things outside of the schoolhouse. I don't think this represents an opportunity to open up any more equal rights than we already have."

The Miami-Dade County Public Schools board majorly opposed a measure to recognize and observe October as LGBTQ History Month. NBC 6's Alyssa Hyman reports
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