🏳️🌈 DuuuvALLllll
Happy Pride, y'all! 🏳️🌈
First off, sorry for the delay! Our system had some kinks that pushed this newsletter's release back a few days. Now, let's get into it.
Kicking off the first full week of June, I'm happy to confirm that Pride lights on the Acosta Bridge are back through Friday.
But the process didn't come without some hiccups.
Email exchanges over the last year between the Florida Department of Transportation and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority show scrutiny over the bridge's rainbow color scheme with the argument that the lights were "out of compliance."
Advocates say it's weird how no other color scheme was escalated to federal levels of oversight.
Can Jacksonville schools be safer? Duval Schools, city team up with firm known for bullet-resistant doors, glass — is there a catch?
The City of Jacksonville and Duval County Public Schools are bringing in a security company to evaluate the school district's security protocols and provide guidance for potential improvements, Mayor Lenny Curry announced last week.
Armoured One, a company that specializes in doors and glass and is based out of Syracuse, New York, says its bullet-resistant products can slow down or prevent a shooter from getting into a classroom. The company also conducts school safety analyses as one of its services and pivoted to selling clear face shields during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Curry told reporters the partnership will be factored into the city's upcoming budget and should cost "under $100,000," but did not elaborate on specifics or if schools will receive any of the company's bullet-resistant products.
"I have a great team and they brought Armoured One to me," Curry said. "They have been working with us and Duval County Public Schools for months." He added that the partnership would have happened regardless of the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Curry said groups have all been in talks for months about working together, but Duval Schools leaders told me the discussions were mostly limited between city officials and Armoured One.
"The conversations mostly have been with the city," Duval Schools Superintendent Diana Greene said. "The school district was a recent addition. Those conversations really have not been beyond surface [level] — introductions, they need to learn more about what we are doing in Duval County Public Schools and how we utilize our protocols and our guidelines before we can all have a robust conversation about where we are."
Curry said he plans to allocate money from the upcoming fiscal budget to put toward the partnership with Armoured One, but that a City Council resolution for additional funds wasn't out of the question.
Public records show that former Jacksonville Mayoral Chief of Staff, Jordan Elsbury, who left his role in November, is registered on city documents as a lobbyist for Armoured One.
DeSantis Starts Pride Month by Going After Transitioning Youth Treatments
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' administration is taking aim at transition-related care for children and adolescents in the state, the latest development in a recent wave of bills and other actions targeting treatment for transgender youth across the country.
In a letter sent to the Florida Board of Medicine, which was obtained by NBC News, state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo wrote that he has recommended against "certain pharmaceutical, non-pharmaceutical, and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria," citing guidance released by the Florida Department of Health in April. He wrote that Florida "must do more to protect children from politics-based medicine."
"Otherwise, children and adolescents in our state will continue to face a substantial risk of long-term harm," Ladapo added.
The request, which was dated June 2, came days after the start of Pride Month, an annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community that coincides with the anniversary of the June 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City. The administration's targeting of transition treatment may heighten the backlash from LGBTQ+ advocates against the DeSantis administration, which has taken heat in recent months over legislation commonly referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" law. The law, officially titled Parental Rights in Education, prohibits discussion on certain topics related to sexual identity and orientation in some school grade levels. (Newsweek)
Coming this week...
JASMYN, Equality Florida and several other LGBTQ+ advocacy groups hosted a PRIDE Party outside of Duval Schools headquarters ahead of yesterday's marathon of a school board meeting.
Advocates attended in efforts to urge school board members to consider LGBTQ+ students' mental health and visibility this upcoming school year. Though no related vote is on the docket, groups were responding to past meetings where board members reviewed a draft of the district's new LGBTQ+ Guide, which critics say is stripped down compared to past versions. Counter protests also attended, defending Gov. DeSantis' Parental Rights in Education law, which will go into effect next month.
The big question is if Duval Schools can find more middle ground to satisfy both groups. Educators and advocates say there should be ways to follow the new law while still respecting LGBTQ+ students' dignity, privacy and not accidentally outing a student to family members who may not be supportive.
If you identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community and are a current DCPS student who wants to talk about the upcoming school year, my DMs are always open!
That's all I've got for now. Have a great week!
—Emily Bloch, youth culture and education reporter
Emily Bloch is a youth culture and education reporter for The Florida Times-Union. Follow her on Twitter or email her. Sign up for her newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 🏳️🌈 DuuuvALLllll
