DeSantis Signs Bill Protecting Parents and Children: “Parental Rights Under Assault”

Governor DeSantis hit the ball out of the park again when he signed the Parental Rights in Education Bill, which works to strengthen the role of the parents in a child’s life and take power away from the school districts. HB1557 covers many issues regarding transparency in public schools and protecting the innocence of young children.

The bill received a lot of push back by the media and was dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by radical activists, even though the words “Don’t Say Gay” never appear in the actual bill. In reality, the bill seeks to confront a few top issues facing Floridians today. The bill bans classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through 3rd grade. It reinforces the novel idea that parents should be informed and make decisions for their children- not the school district. 

Governor DeSantis commented on the bill, saying, “Parent’s rights have been increasingly under assault around the nation, but in Florida, we stand up for the rights of parents and the fundamental role they play in the education of their children; parents have every right to be informed about services offered to their child at school and should be protected from schools using classroom instruction to sexualize their kids as young as 5 years old.”

He’s entirely correct. Children in kindergarten should not be exposed to radical ideologies at school. Not to mention being exposed without the parent’s consent to it. Schools’ actions to sexualize children at a young age are stripping the innocence of children away, something that can never be brought back. Thankfully, Florida is making a firm stand, and hopefully, the rest of the nation will follow suit. 

Even though the media has poured their time and energy into defaming this bill, Floridan parents are very excited and have flocked to express their support for this legislation. Local Floridian parent and advocate for parental rights in education, January Littlejohn, voiced her support of the bill, saying, “I want to thank Governor DeSantis who has been steadfast in his leadership and his unwavering support for parental rights in our great state. When parents are excluded from critical decisions affecting their child’s health and well-being at school, it sends the message to children that their parent’s input and authority are no longer important.” January Littlejohn has become very outspoken regarding parental rights in education after having issues with her daughter’s school, which made headlines.

Senate President, Wilton Simpson, said it best, “Parents have a fundamental right to make decisions regarding the upbringing of their children, and schools should not be keeping important information from parents. Children belong to families, not the state.”

This bill will serve as a level of protection for young children in schools and bring the power back to the parents- where it should have been all along. Parents across the country should be calling their State Representatives and State Senators and asking them to pass similar protections. It’s just common sense.