Florida House bill could erase years of progress on race and gender, advocates say | TheHill – The Hill

A House bill introduced in Florida to remove lessons about gender identity and race from public schools that may make students feel discomfort could erase years of progress in diversity and inclusion, advocates say. It could pass as soon as next week.

Floridas Individual Freedom bill, introduced in January, removes the word gender from statutory language, replacing it, in most cases, with the word sex. It would mandate students be separated by sex, not gender, for sports and sex education.

The bill also broadens the definition of discrimination to include making another person feel uncomfortable over historic actions by their race, nationality or gender. It also replaces the word ethnicity with color.

Under the bill, parents and state regulators would have greater authority to ban books or lessons that cause discomfort, including lessons about the Civil War, the Civil Rights movement and the Holocaust.

Opponents of the bill say progress made in diversity and inclusivity could backslide.

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When we talk about tolerance, when we talk about cultural awareness, when we talk about really understanding the world around you, it's best to start those conversations at an early age. And so we do have concerns that if we remove these conversations from the classroom, that it could be a very real problem, Genesis Robinson, political director of Equal Ground Action Fund, a Florida nonprofit, told Changing America.

This is a very slippery slope here, he said. We have to be very careful about going down a road where we are censoring things that make us have discomfort.

Equality Floridas Brandon Wolf said the bill would almost certainly do more harm than good for the states public school students, whose quality of education is at risk.

How do we expect future generations to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past if we don't teach them the uncomfortable mistakes of the past?, he said.

The House bill, along with its companion Senate bill, is part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss Stop Woke Act, where woke is used as an acronym for Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees. In addition to lessons centered around gender identity and sexual orientation, DeSantis has zeroed in on critical race theory, which addresses systemic racism in the U.S., alleging it will widen racial divisions.

In Florida we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism that is critical race theory, DeSantis said in December while introducing the proposal. We wont allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other.

The Florida Department of Education in June banned critical race theory from public school classrooms, grouping it in the same category as Holocaust denial and other theories that distort historical events.

Under the Individual Freedom bill, companies asking employees to undergo implicit bias or sexual harassment training will also face legal liability, as uncomfortable workers may sue because they feel they have been discriminated against.

If a disgruntled employee goes through sexual harassment training, for instance, and walks out and says they made me feel uncomfortable as a man, then they face potential discrimination lawsuits, because they did conduct that training, Equality Floridas Wolf said.

But companies also have an expectation under federal law to create inclusive workplace environments, allowing for legal liability whether they do or do not conduct diversity or inclusion training.

We as a society, and certainly in the state of Florida, have put a lot of effort into creating inclusive classroom environments and workplaces it's not been accidental, Wolf said. That work has been hard, its come at cost for some people, and the idea that we would be rolling those things back or deconstructing our efforts to be inclusive is almost unconscionable.

Proponents of the bill say it would only make state schools and workplaces more inclusive by taking things like race or gender out of the equation.

DeSantis office did not respond to Changing Americas request for comment but his press secretary late last month told CNN that "Every Floridian deserves an equal shot at success, regardless of skin color. This means considering each person as an individual with unique attributes, experiences, and aspirations, rather than stereotyping them as a member of this or that identity group.

"It is frankly disturbing that anyone would find these ideas controversial in the year 2022, she said.

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Florida House bill could erase years of progress on race and gender, advocates say | TheHill - The Hill