Class Dismissed

ISSUES & POLITICS

The school system has become the battleground for political power on freedom of speech and expression, particularly on the war between LGBTQ+ inclusion and exclusion.

BY DANIELLE OLIVANI

As of late, all across the country, libraries, and schools, once thought of as bastions for freedom of speech, thought, and ideas, have become a hotbed of controversy because of censorship. Censorship can be defined as suppression, deletion, controlling of the press and mass media, or thought control. In the state of Florida, Governor of Florida Ron Desantis seems to have made his entire legislative objective to distort and employ revisionist history through enacting haphazard, dangerous, and flawed Bills like “The Stop Woke Act,” which prohibits workplace diversitytraining and ceasing discussion of race and Critical Race Theory. It is essential to note the legal concept of “CRT” or Critical Race Theory has never been taught in K thru 12th grade. In fact, it is taught to upper-level law students to understand the nuances of how social and political institutions intersect with the concept of race throughout societal structures and constructs.

Nadine Smith, Executive Director of Equality Florida, Florida’s preeminent LGBTQIA+ advocacy organization, expounds on the unlawful act of performative censorship by stating, “There is a legislative war on education in America. At the heart of this war are educational gag orders—state legislative attempts to restrict teaching, training, and learning in K–12 schools and higher education. These bills, which generally target discussions of race, gender, sexuality, and US history, began to appear during the 2021 legislative session and quickly spread to statehouses throughout the country. By the year’s end, 54 bills had been filed in 22 states, of which 12 became law. In 2022, these battles have intensified.”

Much of the impact of these unlawful attempts to censor people, especially students, is happening in Florida. The state’s teachers and administrators have been told to take down any/ all content that is LGBTQIA+ related, as well as books and other informational material about the LGBTQIA+ community. Faculty are being directed to restrict any and all speech related to the queer community; this includes discussing themselves and their families and prohibiting LGBTQIA+ discussion and gender expression among their peers. This prohibition of their first amendment rights also apply to trusted faculty members; they might need to seek help, guidance, or safety.

Two diametrically opposed organizations fighting on behalf of students here in Florida and across the country are Families for Safe Schools and Moms for Liberty. In addition to supporting public education and protecting it from politically motivated attacks, Families for Safe Schools believes that our elected officials and K-12 public schools areresponsible for ensuring that all children have a safe and inclusive learning environment. The central tenets of Families for Safe Schools are fighting against banning books, violating students’ rights to self-expression, and protecting schools from becoming weaponized and victims of political divisiveness. In contrast, Moms for Liberty is an openly and unapologetically politically conservative organization based on Judeo-Christian principles which completely dominates and drives its platform. Moms for Liberty like to propagate their transparent bias against the LGBTQIA+ community, and gatekeeping of the diversity of ideas and thoughts are entirely justified because it is seen solely from a conservative Christian lens. The false narrative that students in public schools are being subjected to religious persecution and immoral or ideologically questionable reading and learning material are harmful and detrimental. Moms for Liberty, under the guise of protecting students, stress the importance of parents’ and caregivers’ commitment to parental rights.

The founders of Moms for Liberty, Tiffany and Tina are former school board members and claim they witnessed how short-sighted and destructive policies directly hurt children and families. Moms for Liberty assert that they are using their firsthand knowledge and experience to unite parents ready to fight those who stand in the way of Lib- erty, but at what cost to those students and individuals who are being silenced because of their bias and intolerance?

The assault on free speech in every sector of society, but especially institutions of learning like schools and libraries, is sure to intensify and continue into 2023 and beyond; more gag order bills will likely be filed in states where they failed this year. Many predict and speculate that other legislative attacks on education, including “curriculum transparency” bills, anti-LGBTQIA+ bills, and book banning measures, will increase as current trends continue.

Many of us are asking what can be done to end this fascist-like trend of authoritarianism and attempt to rewrite history to make those in power more comfortable with those who have been systematically and permissibly persecuted and marginalized in our society, this way eliminating accountabilityand cause for genuine and sustainable change, like the black and brown, immigrant, and LGBTQIA+ communities? One sure way of changing the trajectory is for everyone to get out there, perform their civic duty, and vote these dangerous individuals out of public office. With the 2024 election looming, there can be no room for duplicity or uncertainty regarding free press or children’s freedom to be their authentic selves without fear of shunning, retribution or retaliation; we must continue to fight, if not for us, for them.

DANIELLE OLIVANI is a proud mom, community organizer/activist, and CEO of Lake County Pride Org. Corp; an LGBTQIA+ nonprofit which seeks to improve the lives of Lake County youth through advocacy, education, and acts of service to the community. She is a longtime resident of Lake County and currently lives in Mount Dora, Fla. She graduated from the Rollins College Paralegal Studies program and obtained her certification in 2017.