Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law Took Effect. Chaos Ensued

The trouble in Orange County Public Schools began, perhaps unsurprisingly, at a seminar called “Camp Legal.”

The meeting’s stated purpose was for the district’s attorneys to walk school administrators through changes to law, a part of their annual training. But Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, better known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, was due to take effect the following week, and neither the state nor the district had offered formal guidance on what that new law would actually mean for their classrooms — a problem, since summer school is already in session. So the administrators derailed the lesson plan and unloaded a spade of hypotheticals: Could staff wear the rainbow articles of clothing — like the “Ally” lanyards the district had handed out? What about the “Safe Space” stickers teachers put on their classroom doors? Can teachers display photos of a same-sex partner and, if so, can they tell students who that person is?