The Miami-Dade County School Board has rejected a proposal to deem October “LGBTQ History Month.”
The board made the 5-3 decision in a late-night session, around 1 a.m. Thursday morning.
The proposal said that celebrating “LGBQ History Month” would be a reminder “to all cultures within our wider community of the important roles that LGBTQ people have taken in shaping the social, historical, legal, and political worlds we live in today.”
Dozens of members of the community spoke both for and against the proposal.
According to a report from Politico, board member Lucia Baez-Geller argued in favor of the proposal, claiming that it was a “ceremonial” and “nonbinding” way to support LGBTQ students and families in the state. She also argued that those opposing it are part of a “war on minorities.”
“This didn’t happen in 2021 before the Parental Rights in Education bill,” Baez-Geller said during the meeting, according to the report. “It’s the cultural politics, it’s the political agendas, it’s the war on minorities, it’s the war on people who already are struggling,”
Board Vice Chairman Danny Espino argued against the proposal and explained that it violates the “intent” and “spirit” of the parental rights laws.
The state’s parental rights laws prohibit teachers from discussing sexuality and gender identity with students.
“I really don’t know how a teacher is expected to recognize, observe and celebrate this month without being perceived by students’ parents as instruction or without crossing the line and becoming instruction,” said Espino, according to the Politico report.
