Litigation filed by Florida students and parents challenging the legality of the state’s newly passed Parental Rights in Education law received some encouragement last week from an amicus brief filed by attorneys general in California and 18 other states.
California Attorney Rob Bonta joined the coalition supporting the lawsuit Equality Florida v. Florida State Board of Education. The amicus brief, which was filed Dec. 22, calls on the federal court in the Northern District of Florida to advance the litigation and argues that LGBTQ youth will see their mental health and educational experiences deteriorate as a result of the new law.
The law bans instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity “in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."
Defendants in the case, including the school boards in Pasco County and Orange County, have argued in court filings that the lawsuit should be dismissed. Plaintiffs’ alleged injuries resulting from actions taken by the school districts are not sufficient to prove their constitutional claims, the defendants allege.
Supporters of the new law say it simply ensures young students are not exposed to inappropriate instruction in school.
The attorney generals’ amicus brief contends the law – House Bill 1557 – will encourage LGBTQ discrimination and subject school districts to costly civil litigation for making legitimate instructional decisions.
“Our children deserve to grow up in a world where they are accepted for who they are,” Bonta said in a prepared statement. “But, through Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, (Gov. Ron) DeSantis has instead chosen to stigmatize, silence and erase LGBTQ+ people from schools through censorship and threats of litigation. It’s a blatant attempt to harass and intimidate LGBTQ+ students, teachers and families.”
A recently filed plaintiffs’ brief in opposition to dismissing the case argues that the law violates the Constitution’s due-process clause, fails to provide average people with a notice of what conduct it bans, violates plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights, goes against plaintiffs’ rights to receive information and was motivated by discrimination.
““Our brief … outlines the numerous ways in which HB 1557 … is causing concrete harm to our brave plaintiffs, and to LGBTQ+ students, teachers and families throughout the state of Florida,” the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement emailed to the Florida Record. “We are hopeful that the court will reject defendants’ motion to dismiss this case and allow our clients to have their day in court.”