“I really resent being forced into a position where my role as an educator is all of a sudden somebody who is in charge of censorship,” said Cleaver, who teaches at Ferry Pass Middle School. “That’s not my role as an educator.”
Teachers in Florida said a wave of recent educational-policy changes has sown confusion and chaos, creating fresh concerns for educators struggling to navigate through a new academic year. Disputes over new African-American history standards, Advanced Placement Psychology and new restrictions on calling a student by their preferred name also have many teachers on edge.
Many of the issues confronting teachers this academic school year are byproducts of laws passed in 2022. Florida has been at the forefront of a group of conservative-led states that have made sweeping changes to the way teachers can discuss race, gender and sexuality in the classroom.
One change is Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act passed in 2022—called the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation by opponents—which restricts instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. It originally applied to grades kindergarten to third grade with bans in later grades if not age-appropriate. The state Board of Education expanded it in April to apply through the 12th grade.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis championed the Parental Rights in Education Act, saying it gives parents more control over children’s education and prohibits inappropriate classroom instruction.