A Florida legislator withdrew his amendment to the 'Don't Say Gay' bill that would require school districts to out students within 6 weeks
An amendment to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill would have forced schools to out gay and trans children.
It would have required teachers to inform parents of their child's sexual orientation within six weeks.
The amendment was formally withdrawn on Tuesday.
A now-withdrawn amendment to Florida's "Parental Rights in Education" bill — also dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill — would have required schools to tell a student's parents if their child wasn't straight within six weeks of learning that information.
The bill initially received pushback for banning school districts from encouraging "discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students," though it did not explicitly say what was defined as "age-appropriate" or "developmentally appropriate."
It also originally required staff to "out" students to their parents if the school became aware of a child's sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling or other services, barring situations where a "reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect."
An amendment for the bill filed by one of its cosponsors, Rep. Joe Harding, would have changed that section of the bill and required school staff to make a plan to "disclose such information within 6 weeks" to the child's parents, regardless of whether it may result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect.
The amendment said the school must facilitate the meeting in a way that "protects the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of the studenu," though it did not elaborate as to what that setup might look like.
Harding withdrew the amendment from consideration on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Florida Senate's website.
The Florida House is set to vote on the bill on Tuesday.
President Joe Biden publicly denounced the original legislation in a tweet on February 8 after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled his support for the bill.
"I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are," Biden tweeted. "I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve."
In January, Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, lambasted the bill on Twitter.
The former educator said the legislation would "kill kids," citing a survey from the Trevor Project that showed the high rates of suicidal ideation among LGBTQ youth.
Editor's note: Insider updated the article after Rep. Joe Harding withdrew the amendment from consideration on Tuesday afternoon.
Read the original article on Business Insider
