DeSantis rolls out new rules to protect kids in Florida schools with emphasis on parental rights

The Florida Department of Education on Tuesday proposed new school rules to protect children from “woke” madness.

One rule would limit what sort of live performances that school kids may be exposed to during field trips.

“The proposal includes provisions that would bar districts from admitting ‘a child to an adult live performance’ and prevent such performances from being held in buildings or properties owned or leased by districts. The proposed regulation [also] seeks to bolster procedures related to how parents are notified about field trips and other activities,” according to Miami–Fort Lauderdale station WFOR.

“The proposal would require that parents are provided with permission forms that spell out details such as ‘the nature of the event’ or activity, specific locations and types of sponsors and guests that would be present, and the method of student supervision provided, including the anticipated number of chaperones,” WFOR News reported on Wednesday.

The primary purpose of this rule would be to prevent kids from being exposed to drag shows. Leftist schools across the nation have in recent years been jumping over themselves to expose school kids to drag artists and drag shows for some strange reason.

Manhattan ‘Christian’ high school hosts mandatory drag show in chapel, students forced to ‘pretend it was normal’ via @BIZPACReview – https://t.co/va40XIuXo3

— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) August 5, 2022

Another rule would establish Internet safety policy requirements for every school district.

“The policies would apply to students’ internet use on devices owned by districts, and on devices owned by students when connected to the internet provided by schools,” according to WFOR.

“In part, districts’ guidelines would have to prohibit students from ‘accessing social media platforms, except when expressly directed by a teacher for an educational purpose,'” the legacy outlet notes.

This particular rule would reportedly also target TikTok by making it so that the controversial app is prohibited on school district devices and can’t be “used to communicate or promote any school district, school, school-sponsored club, extracurricular organization, or athletic team.”

Next up is a name rule that says a school may only use a child’s legal name or a parent-approved nickname in school.

“The proposal would amend an existing rule related to student records by adding a provision that would require school boards to adopt policies ‘for parents to specify the use of any deviation from their child’s legal name in school,'” according to WFOR.

“School districts will develop a form to obtain parental consent along with any required documentation, as appropriate,” a draft of the proposed rule reportedly reads.

“This rule will ensure full transparency to enhance the student’s record and protect parental rights,” it continues.

Thus far the rules have only been proposed. They’ll be discussed/debated in person during a July 19th hearing in Orlando.

WFOR notes that some of the proposed rules stem from SB 1438, a drag show law that was passed by the Florida Legislature earlier this spring and then signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last month.

Today, the Florida Senate passed SB 1438 which would prohibit a person from knowingly admitting a child to an adult live performance, including lewd drag shows.

— The Florida Standard (@theflstandard) April 11, 2023

As previously reported, the bill primarily grants the state the power to punish companies that expose children to adult drag show performances.

According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, the bill defines a live adult performance as “any show, exhibition or other presentation in front of a live audience which, in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or specific sexual activities …, lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”

Especially when such an act “predominantly appeals to a prurient, shameful or morbid interest,” and “is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community of this state as a whole with respect to what is suitable material or conduct for the age of the child present,” or “taken as a whole, is without serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for the age of the child present.”

That said, the bill has for the time being been blocked by a federal judge thanks to a lawsuit from Hamburger Mary’s, an Orlando restaurant that reportedly frequently hosts drag shows for children.

“The suit alleged that the new law ‘seeks to explicitly restrict, or chill speech and expression protected by the First Amendment based on its content, its message, and its messenger.’ Further, Hamburger Mary’s argued that the law was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad,” according to Reason magazine.

“[A] federal judge agreed, granting a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the law. Judge Gregory A. Presnell of the Middle District of Florida ruled that the statute was unconstitutionally vague, leaving the definition of terms like ‘lewd conduct’ unclear, leading to uncertain law enforcement,” the magazine reported on Monday.

Presnell also “ruled that the restriction was ‘facially content-based,’ noting that ‘it does not restrict the attendance of children from all live performances, only those engaged in the portrayal of a specific, enumerated subset of content.'”

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Vivek Saxena

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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.

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