The Miami-Dade County School Board on July 28 accepted two health and sexual education textbooks for use in middle and high schools, reversing a decision from just the previous week to reject the curriculum over fears it could violate the state’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill, known by opponents as “Don’t Say Gay.”

The about-face was led by the chair, Perla Tabares Hantman, whose flipped vote made the difference in the books passing by a 5-4 margin. Hantman, who initially opposed the books after community members criticized them for broaching topics like abortion and contraceptives, worried that denying the books could eventually leave the school district out of compliance with state teaching standards.

The back-and-forth among Miami’s school board is an early test of how the new Florida law, passed earlier this year and championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is shaping school policies. The law prohibits teachers from leading classroom lessons on gender identity or sexual orientation for students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. It also prohibits these lessons for older students unless they are “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”

County Citizens Defending Freedom, a conservative group, contended the textbooks violated that law.

The new textbooks cover nutrition, exercise, sexually transmitted infections, gender identity, stress management, and drugs and alcohol, among other topics.

Board member Lucia Baez-Geller, who voted to approve the books, said the July 21 vote “was essentially a banning of books and a banning of knowledge.”

Politico, July 28

New York Times, July 28