Florida’s new rules for classrooms could get teachers in trouble
Florida’s new education laws are working their way into the disciplinary system that governs teachers, meaning some could be sanctioned over issues such as gender identity and pronouns used by students.
School district leaders recently received an updated version of the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida, which is posted on the state website.
The document includes a half-dozen new prohibitions. Among them: Teachers cannot “intentionally” provide classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity unless that material is required under the curriculum. They cannot discourage or prohibit parental notification and involvement in critical issues concerning a student’s well-being unless they reasonably believe that disclosure would harm the child.
And they cannot intentionally violate a new law that governs the use of personal pronouns and titles in schools.
In a similar move, the State Board of Education recently expanded its definition of immoral acts and moral turpitude for purposes of teacher discipline. That definition now includes exposing students to pornography or adult entertainment.
Ever since the passage of laws in 2022 and this year that seek to keep sexual and LGBTQ+ themes out of school settings, some educators have wondered what the consequences would be for teachers found out of compliance.
But as new rules related to those laws have started circulating in recent weeks, that uncertainty is waning. In updating the professional conduct document and broadening the definition of moral turpitude, state leaders made one consequence clear: Teachers face the prospect of warnings, fines and loss of their certification.
“That’s a very stark reality,” said Lindsey Blankenbaker, executive director of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association. “We anticipated something like this and it is certainly a threat.”
Teachers, she said, stand to lose “not just their jobs but their livelihoods, a lifelong profession in which they have dedicated themselves to protecting children and caring for children.”
As the state’s Education Practices Commission has not yet met since the code of professional conduct was amended, it’s not clear what specific penalties would be imposed.
Generally speaking, education practices cases can result in a reprimand, a fine, a referral for training or, in severe cases, suspension or revocation of a teacher’s certificate. Even mild consequences can be harmful because they appear on the teacher’s record.
Rob Kriete, president of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association, said the changes make the case that “teachers need unions to protect them” even though “teachers have always been held to a higher moral standard because of their job.”
No such actions are anticipated anytime soon. Professional conduct cases take months and sometimes years to work their way through the system.
Christie Gold, who works in the Hillsborough school district’s human resources department and served previously on the state’s Educational Practices Commission, said it is impossible to know how many teachers will find their jobs in jeopardy.
“Rules like these are intentionally broad, and with good reason,” she said. “You would never tell a teacher, ‘do not touch a child,’” because in some situations the child might be about to injure himself or someone else.
The new state rules repeatedly use the word “intentionally” when describing prohibited actions. But that word is open to interpretation — as is another common term, “instruction.”
It is up to the state education commissioner, after a complaint is filed, to decide if that case shows probable cause to move forward. The commissioner will have the discretion to decide, for example, if a teacher intended to talk about a storybook character or historical figure who was gay, or if a class discussion happened without the teacher’s encouragement.
“What this does is, it allows those in leadership to pick and choose which cases they will prosecute,” Kriete said.
Already, teachers are expressing anxiety over the new laws.
“Five years ago, I would get questions about medical marijuana,” said Gold, who works with newly hired teachers and college interns. “Now if it’s someone in the LGBTQ community, it’s about how much do I have to hide, how discreet do I need to be. I don’t necessarily know the answers myself.”
Blankenbaker predicted that “a lot of people are going to be very trepidatious” on the job.
“I am confident it will have a chilling effect on instruction,” she said, “and on the care and the interventions that schools are able to carry out for our most vulnerable students.”
