Florida House passes bill to limit use of preferred pronouns in schools

The Florida state House on Friday passed legislation to prevent schools employees from asking for students' preferred pronouns or sharing their own.

The measure comes as part of a broader expansion of the Parental Rights in Education Act, which restricts discussion of certain sexual topics in schools. At present, the law restricts discussion of those materials from kindergarten third grade, but the state measure would expand that restriction to include pre-kindergarten through grade eight.

The bill further asserts that "a person’s sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person’s sex," according to The Hill. The lower chamber passed the legislation by a 77-35 vote margin, with two Republicans voting against it.

Should the bill become law, it will also require that schools secure approval from the state Department of Education before using materials on reproductive health to educate students. At present, schools need only the approval of the local school board.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.