Florida moves to expand parental rights law to cover high school

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is preparing to expand the state's controversial parental rights bill to cover high schools.

The Parental Rights in Education law, which critics have maligned as "Don't Say Gay" legislation, forbids public schools from discussing gender and sexuality topics with students through the third grade.

DeSantis, however, is looking to expand those prohibitions through to the twelfth grade, the Associated Press reported. This rule change does not require the support of the legislature and will instead be considered by the state Board of Education, which includes DeSantis appointees.

Republican State Rep. Adam Anderson in February proposed a similar expansion of the prohibitions up to the eighth grade. His measure would also eliminate any requirement that students or school employees address individuals by their preferred pronouns should they misalign with one's biological sex.

The proposal is the latest move in the Florida governor's shakeup of the state education system. In January of this year, DeSantis appointed a new slate of trustees to the board of New College and tasked them with restructuring the school and its curriculum. That board subsequently ousted President Patricia Okker in favor of former Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran.

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