A school board in Florida is no longer recognizing LGBTQ+ history month

Months after a court ruling effectively gutted Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, authorizing queer topics in schools, a Miami-Dade school board has rejected a resolution to recognize LGBTQ+ History Month. While the school district previously approved recognition in 2021, this marks the third year in a row that the board has denied the resolution.

When school board Member Lucia Baez-Geller introduced the measure, she hoped the recent ruling on the “Don’t Say Gay” law might inspire a fresh start to queer school topics. At the same time, she explained that recognizing October as LGBTQ+ History Month is a “symbolic gesture” not meant to affect curriculum but to “foster a welcoming school climate where LGBTQ students, families, and educators can live their authentic lives and be treated with dignity and respect.”

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“This item is solely a symbolic gesture to recognize LGBTQ History Month as we do so many endorsements throughout the year,” Baez Geller said, according to local affiliate NBC6. “It does not pertain to curriculum.”

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“If we truly want to teach children of Miami-Dade County Public Schools to cultivate empathy for others, we need them to understand that means for all people, and that starts by understanding everyone’s history,” an anonymous supporter added.

School board members Luisa Santos and Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall joined Baez-Geller in supporting the resolution. “It’s one way we can take a small stand against prejudice and tell our students you are valued and your safety matters,” Santos said, according to the Miami Herald.

Following a contentious school board meeting, the board voted down the measure 5-3.

The opposition was largely spearheaded by the Christian Family Coalition, a conservative organization who sent emails and texts encouraging their 60,000 members to attend the meeting. As a result, many of the speakers cited Biblical reasoning in their arguments and claimed the resolution was “left-wing indoctrination.”

One member, Marsha Hertig, said that LGBTQ+ history “is not right in the sight of God. He made us male and female and told us to reproduce.”

Despite the Florida government’s much publicized descent into anti-queer rhetoric and legislation, multiple school districts have recognized LGBTQ+ History Month. Orange, Hillsborough, Palm Beach, and most recently Broward county school boards have all approved recognition of LGBTQ+ History Month with little controversy.