Under pressure from parents empowered by a new state education law, the Miami-Dade County School Board has reversed itself by adopting two new textbooks for the upcoming school year, leaving students without a sex education curriculum for the next few months.
The board of directors voted 5-3 in April to adopt the textbooks, but the decision was met with a number of petitions opposing the move by parents citing a new state law that supporters call the Parental Rights in Education measure, but those opponents of the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The outcry led to a hearing in June. The district’s superintendent appointed a hearing officer to listen to the petitioners, who advised the school board to reject the petitions and proceed with the adoption of the textbooks. On Wednesday, the board voted 5 to 4 not to approve the new textbooks.
The school board’s decision is the latest in the story of how Florida’s curriculum is being shaped since Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation in March banning classroom teaching and discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in some grade-school classes.
Wednesday’s vote wasn’t the first time a curriculum had been rejected in Florida. In April, the state rejected 42 of the 132 math books for use in public schools, citing “prohibited subjects.”
The textbooks in question on Wednesday — high school and high school editions of “Comprehensive Health Skills” — cover topics such as pregnancy prevention, sexually transmitted diseases and understanding sexuality. The books also cover drugs and alcohol, stress management, and relationships.
Karla Hernández-Mats, president of the United Teachers of Dade, said in a statement on Wednesday that she was disappointed to see the board reverse its April decision, adding that “the voice of extremist individuals with political agendas” should not dictate. what students learn.
“We are alarmed by the continued attempt by extremist groups to censor books,” she said. “Our teachers work with parents and believe that they should continue to be able to refuse their children content they are not comfortable with. We respect the voices of parents and the choices they make for their children and not for the children of others.”
Alex Serrano, the director of the Miami-Dade chapter of County Citizens Defending Freedom, spoke at the meeting against the approval of the textbooks because, he said, the material could violate Florida state law.
“Much of the content is age-inappropriate, usurps parental rights, and is scientifically inaccurate and not factual,” Mr Serrano said.
Wednesday’s hour-long school board meeting became tense at times. At one point, a woman was escorted outside by police officers, and at another time, the school administrators called for a five-minute break after receiving several mocking responses from those present.
After the break, Vice President Steve Gallon III noted that of the more than 40 people who spoke at the meeting, 38 were in favor of the new textbooks.
“That’s 90 percent of the speakers speaking today – do the math,” said Mr. Gallon. “That data gives me a greater opportunity to debunk this story and expose that there is broad opposition to the board’s approval of these materials.”
Speaking at the textbook adoption meeting, Marika Lynch, a mother of three, said “the stakes are really too high.”
“We want kids to be prepared when the time comes,” said Ms Lynch. “Would you rather have this information given to them by their teachers, who are trained to do this in an age-appropriate manner? Or would you rather they get the information on their phone?”
Kahlil Sankara, who attended public schools in Miami-Dade before graduating from Florida International University, said at the meeting that he never received sex education growing up. Mr Sankara said he had friends in the area who had contracted HIV, while other friends had babies in middle or high school.
“I think the results were detrimental to me and my community,” said Mr. Sankara. “That has prepared us for nothing but to teach us fear and a lack of good knowledge.”
Because Florida state law requires the approval of reproductive health instructional materials to be made available for public review and comment, Lourdes Diaz, chief of academia for public schools in Miami-Dade, said it would be some time before new material would appear. can be approved. students without that curriculum for now.
