The Florida Senate voted Tuesday to pass a controversial Bill, HB 1557, or Parents’ Rights in Education. LGBTQIA activists have viewed the legislation as a “Don’t Say Gay” bill because it limits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms. The Florida House of Representatives passed the bill on February 25, 2022. The bill restricts “[c]classroom instruction by school personnel or others about sexual orientation or gender identity” for students in kindergarten through third grade that is deemed inappropriate under state standards.” about your student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being, or a change in related services or control, or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold such information from parents. In a press release, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the bill will “significantly limit the ability” of school personnel to be a “confidential resource” for students who question their sexual orientation or gender identity. Florida Rep. Joe Harding told Fox News that the bill “defines that there are certain directions related to gender and sexual orientation that are simply not appropriate for certain ages.” Harding believes the bill ” It’s going to keep school districts from talking about these issues before kids are ready to process them.”in all these different identities in life, trying to see where they fit in.” According to a study by the Council on Sexuality Information and Education of the United States, 17 percent of self-identifying gay and bisexual men and 11 percent of gay and bisexual women were aware of their sexuality in elementary school HRW also noted that the bill does not specify what material is inappropriate for young children or who should decide what materials or topics are not age appropriate Senator Tina Polsky asked to her colleagues why discussion of sexual orientation should be strictly controlled, but mature topics like suicide and drug use are not. specifically named in the bill. Senator Shevrin Jones, the first openly gay senator in Florida history, said: “I want to remind my colleagues that I am not a hypothetical, I sit in the room [with] you, and your actions and words matter.” The bill will now go to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for approval.