Culture

DeSantis Win – Federal Judge Upholds Ban On Sexual Content In Florida Schools

Published on 11 months ago

Once again we are reminded that elections matter.

Three federal judges, all appointed by former President Trump, have made correct rulings in the sunshine state of Florida.

In early September federal judge Aileen M. Cannon of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, intervened in the investigation of former Trump’s handling of sensitive government records.

She ordered the appointment of an independent arbiter to review a trove of materials seized from Mr. Trump’s private club and residence in Florida.

Judge Cannon, also temporarily barred the Justice Department from using the seized materials for any “investigative purpose” connected to its inquiry into Mr. Trump until the work of the arbiter, known as a special master, was completed.

Last Thursday, a different federal judge sided with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, tossing out a challenge to the state’s law prohibiting sexual content in school curricula for young children.

Orlando-based U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger handed down the 28-page decision on October 20, denying a request for a preliminary injunction against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act.

Plaintiffs in the case had argued the law was intended to advance discrimination and could lead to the bullying of children with confused “gender identities.” However, Berger noted that the “plaintiffs have not pointed this court to any policy or procedure …that they allege has resulted in an increase in bullying.”

While the federal judge said “the court is sympathetic” to the notion that a child could be bullied at school over gender-related issues, “middle school children bully and belittle their classmates for a whole host of reasons, all of which are unacceptable, and many of which have nothing to do with a classmate’s gender identity.”

The Thursday decision marks the second time in under a month that a federal judge has refused to prevent enforcement of the Parental Rights in Education Act, which has been widely mischaracterized as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by left-wing critics.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, a third Trump appointee, dismissed a separate attempt to challenge the law, stating that the plaintiffs lacked standing because “most of plaintiffs’ alleged harm is not plausibly tied to the law’s enforcement so much as the law’s very existence.”

Both Berger and Winsor said the plaintiffs could file revised versions of their original complaints.

The Florida law in question bars schools in the Sunshine State from teaching children from kindergarten through third grade about transgenderism and other issues related to gender ideology or sexuality.

The legislation also limits discussions of sexuality for older children to “age-appropriate” content and mandates that parents be informed of any changes that could affect their child’s physical, emotional, or mental well-being, including whether a child identifies as another gender’s “identity” at school.

Critics have baselessly argued that the Parental Rights bill is a hateful attack against teachers and students who identify as LGBT and have contended that teachers aren’t attempting to indoctrinate schoolchildren into radical sexual ideology. The argument comes despite myriad examples of teachers actively engaging in pro-LGBT activism in their classrooms.

DeSantis has consistently defended the legislation, arguing it ensures that kids are educated in schools, not indoctrinated into radical ideologies.

“As students head back to their classrooms this fall, I’m happy to clear up any ‘confusion’ the media may have about the appropriate curriculum,” DeSantis said in August, adding that “Math, Reading, Writing,” were appropriate for the classroom while “CRT, Sexualized Content, Transgender Ideology” were not.