TAMPA, Florida — Florida students are facing a lot of changes in the new school year — especially LGBTQ+ students who have to navigate new rules on pronouns, bathrooms, and discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom.
It's why a group is coming together to support parents and families who say they're being targeted by Florida's latest education laws.
Equality Florida launched "Parenting with Pride" this month with the goal of creating "communities where every LGBTQ+ child feels safe, affirmed, and loved." The program will offer tools like monthly webinars to help educate parents on changes in schools and provide them with resources and support for their children.
"Parenting with Pride" was created in response to right-wing organizations like "Moms for Liberty," which formed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to decry school safety measures like mask mandates.
"Moms for Liberty" was recently labeled an "antigovernment extremist" group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
"For years, Governor Ron DeSantis and right wing, astroturf organizations like Moms For Liberty have waged war on freedom and turned Florida’s classrooms into political battlegrounds," Equality Florida wrote in a statement. "Fed up, parents and allies across the state are organizing and fighting back."
Florida's new education laws have already begun to take effect in different ways across the state. Orange County Schools, for instance, now requires a permission slip signed by a parent for students to go by any name other than their legal one, including nicknames and chosen names of transgender students.
But while students can go by their chosen names, Florida law prevents teachers and staff from using pronouns for students that do not align with their biological sex.
"Parenting with Pride" already has more than 1,000 families on board and is continuing to grow. You can connect with the organization on ParentingWithPrideFlorida.org.