Miami School Board Shoots Down LGBTQ+ History month — Again

One of the largest school districts in America once again will prohibit recognition of LGBTQ+ History month.

The Miami-Dade County School Board for the second year in a row, voted 5-3 against the recognition in October. Members cited concerns over Florida’s controversial “don’t say gay” law.

“There is a law on the books that is clear,” said Danny Espino, School Board vice chair, during the meeting.

The Florida law prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity, and Espino said he saw no way teachers could recognize the month without violating the law.

School Board member Lucia Baez-Geller, who has championed recognizing the month for years, told local news outlets she was saddened by the controversy.

She worked to provide changes that left recognition out of instruction while still celebrating the contribution to society of LGBTQ individuals in history.

“It’s supposed to be something, a celebration, and endorsement, one of many,” she told Miami ABC affiliate WPLG. She and two other members voted yes, but five School Board members voted no.

Baez-Geller said she had grown tired of Miami-Dade, the largest school district in Florida, sending so many tax dollars to Tallahassee to pay for censorship. She said it’s the vagueness of laws like “don’t say gay” that are leading to districts and educators self-censoring.

“It’s part of a bigger picture,” she said at the meeting. “It’s part of an anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and an agenda that’s happening out of Tallahassee.”

Board members heard 12 hours of testimony on the proposal, including from a mother who said LGBTQ people “can’t make children” and are trying to indoctrinate others. The Miami Herald published photos of members of the Proud Boys wearing shirts that read “shoot your local pedophile.”

Some board members said ultimately, values around sexuality must be left to parents and out of schools. School Board member Mary Blanco said she wrestled over the issue and applauded Baez-Geller for trying to present a resolution that complied with the law, technically named the Parental Rights in Education law.

“No matter how much you try to have those guardrails, inevitably things will spill into discussions in the classroom, which are also protected under the parental rights act,” Blanco said. “I do fear this places our district and our teachers at risk of litigation by parents or some kind of state sanction.”