HB655/SB600 Includes Student Protections for Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Disabilities
Tallahassee, FL — Vowing to end a shameful system of discrimination, State Senator Darryl Rouson (D-Tampa) and State Rep. Anna V. Eskamani (D-Orlando) have filed legislation that would prevent private schools that benefit from publicly funded vouchers from refusing to serve some children just because they are different.
The legislation (HB 655/SB 600) would make it illegal for private schools that receive funding through Florida’s various taxpayer-supported scholarship programs from denying enrollment to kids based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or disability status.
An Orlando Sentinel investigation last year uncovered more than 80 private schools around the state — which collectively receive millions in public money through the voucher system — that will not teach students who are LGBTQ or disabled.
“Schools that take money from the public should serve the public — all of the public,” said Senator Rouson. “All of us would be outraged if these schools were turning away kids based on the color of their skin. And all of us should be outraged that they are turning away kids based on who they love, how they identify, or because they have disabilities.”
This is the second year in a row that Senator Rouson and Representative Eskamani have filed this legislation. And while Republican leaders in the Florida Legislature refused to give either bill a single hearing in 2020, the public outcry prompted some corporations like Rosen Hotels & Resorts to stop funding the voucher program until the discrimination ends.
But rather than fix the problem, defenders of discrimination have instead launched a public-relations campaign attempting to highlight private schools that do not discriminate — while hoping everyone forgets about the many that still do.
“Right now, we have schools profiting off public money that will expel students just because their parents happen to be LGBTQ,” said Representative Eskamani. “This modern system of ‘separate but equal’ is indefensible. And Republican leaders in Tallahassee should stop hiding from this debate and hear our legislation, so we can end this discriminatory practice once and for all.”
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