SPRING DANCE CONCERT

DANCE

Concert dance featuring national and international guest choreographers and faculty members.

March 24 and 25, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.

East Campus Performing Arts Center 701 N Econlockhatchee Trl, Orlando

Get Tickets: valenciacollege.edu/arts

407-582-2900

Pricing: $12 General Admission $10 Students,* Alumni, Faculty, Staff, Seniors and Military $6 Children 12 and under

*Students who have a valid Valencia College ID are eligible to receive one free ticket to this event. These tickets will be issued at the box office beginning at 7:00 p.m. on the nights of the events.

BY RYAN DAILEY AND JIM TURNER, NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

» Florida trans youth can no longer start gender-affirming care, as treatment ban takes effect

Florida doctors could lose their medical licenses if they order puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgery for minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria, under a Florida Board of Medicine rule that took effect last Thursday. Opponents of the ban, pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, pledged to file a lawsuit challenging the rule. A Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine rule with identical prohibitions will take effect March 28. The state Department of Health in July filed a petition seeking a rule-making process on the contentious issue of treatment for gender dysphoria, which the federal government defines clinically as “significant distress that a person may feel when sex or gender assigned at birth is not the same as their identity.”

DeSantis is among GOP politicians nationwide targeting gender-affirming care for minors. DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo argue that gender-affirming treatment for youths is experimental and not backed by robust clinical research. But dozens of medical associations contend that the state’s approach is at odds with widely accepted guidelines and that gender-affirming treatment is safe, effective and medically necessary. Under the new rules, minors currently being treated with puberty blockers or hormone therapies would be allowed to continue the treatment. Children who have begun to socially transition but have not started puberty blockers, however, would be ineligible for such treatment. The new Board of Medicine rule took effect as lawmakers consider proposals that would enshrine the prohibition against gender-affirming treatment for minors in state law and impose other restrictions. A Senate measure would make it a felony for doctors or other health-care professionals to order puberty blockers, hormone treatment or surgery for transgender minors.

» Florida House bill expands private school vouchers to cover all students,

including home-schooled

The Republican-controlled House last Friday passed a measure that would make every Florida student eligible for taxpayer-backed school vouchers, as Democrats and other critics slammed the expansion as a “coupon for millionaires.” House members voted 83-27 along almost-straight party lines to pass the bill. The Senate could consider a similar bill (SB 202) as early as this week. The proposals have sailed through the Legislature, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has pledged that he would sign a vouchers expansion. Opposition to the House bill centered, in part, on eliminating income-eligibility requirements that are part of current voucher programs. Families would be eligible to receive vouchers under the bill if “the student is a resident of this state and is eligible to enroll in kindergarten through grade 12 in a public school in this state.”

Rep. Marie Woodson, D-Hollywood, echoed many other opponents Friday when she criticized the possibility that wealthy families would receive vouchers. “This bill is an $8,000 gift card to the millionaires and billionaires, who are being gifted with a statesponsored coupon for something they can already afford,” Woodson said. The Florida Education Association teachers union also derided the measure as providing an “$8,000 taxpayer funded coupon for millionaires and billionaires,” saying in a tweet that the measure is a “terrible idea.”

» Florida Senate proposal would prevent local governments from removing Confederate monuments

Local governments would be blocked from removing historic monuments from public locations and could face lawsuits, under a controversial proposal that started to advance last week in the Florida Senate. In a 5-3 party line vote, the Republican-controlled Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee approved a bill (SB 1096) designed to stem efforts that have increased during the past few years to remove monuments and markers, most tied to the Confederacy. Bill sponsor Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, said the proposal would give standing to people to file lawsuits if they believe they have “lost history” or the ability to teach about the past because of the removal or relocation of monuments or a failure to protect the structures from damage. “There are many concerned individuals in my district who have been watching the news in the past few years and have seen historical monuments of all shapes and sizes, of all political creeds damaged, vandalized for political purposes,” Martin said.

The “Historical Monuments and Memorials Protection Act” would apply to a wide range of items, including plaques, statues, markers, flags and banners that are considered permanent displays “dedicated to a historical person, entity, event or series of events, and that honors or recounts the military service of any past or present military personnel or the past or present public service of a resident of the geographical area.” People responsible for taking down, damaging or removing monuments or memorials would be open to civil lawsuits, including the threat of increased damages known as “treble” damages and punitive damages. A similar measure (HB 1607) has been filed in the House.

» Florida House panel approves bill that would allow anyone to challenge books taught in schools

A Florida House panel approved a bill that would bolster a process for people to object to school instructional materials and for parents to limit school-library books their children can read. The House Education Quality Subcommittee voted 13-5 along straight party lines to support the measure, with sponsor Stan McClain, R-Ocala, pushing back against opponents who characterized it as enabling book bans. “This idea that book banning is taking place, and all of that, is a myth and is not true. Members, what we’re trying to do is ensure that our parents continue to have the opportunity to know what materials are being used to instruct (their children) and to have the ability to challenge that,” McClain said. Lawmakers during the 2022 legislative session passed a law designed to intensify scrutiny of school library books and instructional materials. It required school boards to adopt procedures that, in part, provide for the “regular removal or discontinuance” of books from media centers.

The bill (HB 1069) approved last Wednesday would require that all instructional materials selected for use in school districts be approved by the state Department of Education. It also seeks to make the process easier for people to object to instructional materials and library books. The bill also would require that objection forms provide contact information for school districts that would point people toward submitting objections. If an objection is filed on the basis that materials contain pornography or depictions of “sexual conduct,” the bill would require that the books or materials be removed within five school days “and remain unavailable until the objection is resolved.” The measure also would limit instruction on “human sexuality,” and would define “sex” as “the classification of a person as either female or male based on the organization of the body of such person for a specific reproductive role, as indicated by the person’s sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, and internal and external genitalia present at birth.”