State-level legislation and executive orders this year shifted from censoring racial issues in classrooms and instead focused on censoring LGBTQ+ issues, according to a new report from PEN America. At the same time, this significant shift also created an increased resistance to these unpopular laws and policies.
The free-expression nonprofit PEN America has been tracking what it describes as “educational gag orders” since 2021. While such bills introduced in 2021 and 2022 focused on limiting how issues of race and racism could be taught in classrooms, in 2023, conservative lawmakers and advocates turned their attention to banning discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in K–12 classrooms.
The anti-LGBTQ+ group’s candidates lost big in at least four states.
“It appears that America’s would-be censors now see proposals to restrict conversations about sexual orientation and gender identity as more of a winning political issue than efforts to restrict discussions of race and racism,” the report stated. “Leveraging that presumed support, [conservatives] have attempted to enact sweeping restrictions on what school-age children can read and learn.”
PEN America documented 110 state-level bills introduced during the 2023 legislative sessions that it defined as educational gag orders. Only 10 became law, while four other restrictions on education were imposed via executive orders or state or system regulations. Of those 110 bills, 39 specifically targeted how public school teachers could discuss LGBTQ+ issues (five of those also applied to private schools).
According to the report, about three-quarters of those anti-LGBTQ+ bills were modeled on Florida’s infamous “Parental Rights in Education Act,” commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
These restrictions resulted not only in the marginalization of LGBTQ+ students and students with LGBTQ+ family members, they have also had a devastating impact on public education more broadly, forcing teachers to self-censor and contributing to teacher shortages across the country, the report added.
“If teachers are afraid to make any mention of race or LGBTQ+ identities in the classroom, if they are afraid to answer student questions, if quality educators are leaving and cannot be replaced, students are the ones who suffer most,” PEN America’s report stated.
While efforts to impose educational censorship are expected to continue into 2024, the report also offers reason for hope in the form of increased resistance to such legislation. According to PEN America, at least 13 different lawsuits challenging educational gag orders are currently pending, and political resistance has also grown.
“Over the last three years — and especially in the past twelve months — an increasing number of national groups have begun dedicating significant resources to combat educational censorship,” according to the report. “Simultaneously, a network of state-centric groups — many of them founded by parents, community members, and educators themselves — has emerged to take the fight directly to the local school board or state legislature.”
As PEN America notes, growing public opposition to educational censorship targeting issues of race and LGBTQ+ identity could ultimately make such legislation less attractive to conservative lawmakers.
I am an older gay guy in a long-term wonderful relationship. My spouse and I are in our 36th year together. I love politics and news. I enjoy civil discussions and have no taboo subjects. My pronouns are he / him / his and my email is Scottiestoybox@gmail.com
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6 thoughts on “Efforts to block LGBTQ+ issues in schools are finally backfiring, new report says”
All these fight backs are gladden my grim heart.
It may be, I hope (and quietly pray) that the common sense and equality will prevail in the USA and this hate filled, hysteric, fanatical drive will be pushed back into a corner where they can have their own little twisted communities which everyone else ignore and despises.
As Churchill is reputed to have said (although disputed) “You can always count on American to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else”*
* To be fair to the average American this would relate to his frustration with American WWII politics and no doubt was reciprocated by FDR and his team.
Best wishes to you Scottie. Ron and all those liberals who seek moderation and toleration in society.
Thank you Roger. I think these groups used both a stealth tactic and used the basic tendency of not paying attention by the public. People don’t understand how driven and fanatical these people are. I admit I don’t under it. I don’t understand being so driven to police how others live? Likewise, I don’t understand the need to control the sexual activities of others. In fact, I would rather not know what gets most people their jollies.
But some people either think they are that important (ego) or are trying so desperately to please their god to prove they are worthy of its love / favor for an afterlife. That means controlling what complete strangers read, watch, and do.
Roger, I trust you as a pretty spiritual Christian authority, as I do also with Rev. Ed Trevors. I don’t recall either of you saying you need to police the sexual activity of consensual adults. But I have read / heard both of you promote helping the disadvantaged with food, shelter, clothing, and emotional support.
So I ask you, what is really driving these people? Why deny books, why stifle education, why fight science, why try to stop the world understanding / society at a distant point in the past. Roger if there was a positive force, a powerful entity in the universe that has existed in the past and maybe / maybe not see the future, it seems very short-sighted to think it is not looking forward to what is coming next in human understanding or development. Instead of fixating on the past, that entity to me would be excited about the future growth and expansion / accepting / tolerating other humans ways, joys, and understandings.
Sorry, it is just a thought. See I don’t mean to be disrespectful but if there is a good and bad force like god vs devil, I don’t see it as the bible writes it. I see it more like my spouse does. He imagines a power / energy that wants good positive things that have an opposite negative energy force / power that fights against that. The ying yang thing. But we don’t apply a personality or assign a religion to these, only an energy to do positive or balance it out with negative energy.
Which means humans / all life has an ability to tap in to that energy and use either side to fuel them, to use either side to fuel them.
Sorry Roger, as an author and learned person, you may know far more about this or the thing I am trying to express than I ever can. I do look forward to your thoughts on this. You often give me many things to think on. Thank you. Hugs. Scottie
Hi Scottie.
Sorry for the delay in replying. Once again it was necessary to think upon your very pertinent questions.
There are volumes after volumes written about how folk impose their will on folks ranging from the subtle persuasive to the downright brutal and what are their motivations in doing so.
If you start off at the lesser end it’s usually because they think they have a great idea about something and wish to get other folk to share it and think the same way. Though they can get a bit snippy if they hit disagreements.
From there on you get the mix of fear and hate. The fear that those they disagree with or dislike will overrule them and take away their way of life. The hate being, that they just hate folk who are different; prejudice and intolerance being very powerful motivators.
For the extremist or radical (if taken too far) there can be no middle ground. This applies to areas of religion, politics and social interactions (and some types of economics). ‘With us or against us’ or in worst case scenarios ‘subdue, drive out, eradicate’. Outside of their narrow views there are no others which are not seen as threats to them. Which is where Conspiracy Theories and Denial of Climate change come in.
In justification they will meld and twist whatever works form the basis for the beliefs. In the case of Christian Religion because the Old and New Testaments (particularly the former) have been translated from Oral through several languages into the words they currently read which are a rich mine to selectively pick and choose. Thus instead of meditating and reflecting on contexts and motivations they simply look for the words which justify their already built in prejudices, and expand upon those. They do not look to be challenged or have a ‘Uh? How come’ or ‘Oh My. Now I get it,’ interludes. They do not consider the true power and meaning of Christ’s Death. In this Christ’s teaching to consider the sins of speaking ill of others, giving way to anger through intolerance are ignored. Thus the entire teachings are compressed into a perceived warped edict in which Intolerance and Narrow minded thinking are glorified.
In similar vein some those who seek freedom for their ethnicity do so at the sacrifice of freedom of other ethnicity. Political groups in the drive to seek to bring their beliefs for ‘the good of society’, would do so at the vilification and suppression of opposition. Likewise in social interactions.
I can write this with some backwards confidence Scottie because I have been prey to these dangers of intolerance and hard solutions, although mine have been directed in a political direction. All for the Good of Society of course, something like Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four -lite. I have been inside that mindset and still drift into it. Then I have to go back and admit to God and my Lord Jesus that I have been back sliding again.
Humanity is a flawed species wilfully or instinctively letting its intelligence be governed by baser drive, which were geared for survival of a species in simpler scenarios. We should have outgrown all of this. History teaches up these is no benefits for embracing Intolerance and Brutality, to do will come back on those who embrace, as nations, communities, or individuals.
Thank you for asking my opinions Scottie.
Take care you guys
Hi Roger. That was a wonderful and insightful / in depth reply. I love it. I had to reread a few parts here and there, then go back and read it as a whole to get the meaning of what you are trying to convey. See I was thinking on this in only one dimension at a time. I did not add all the possible driving forces together.
I guess that is why it is so hard to combat? Most people like me try to attack the issues / problems as a single cause, not many. I was thinking these people attack gays out of hate, they attack trans out of fear / lack of education or understanding, they demand everyone worship / live as they do out of ego. I never thought it could be all of that and more rolled into one driving force.
That is a daunting task Roger, because I admit I don’t understand the regressive restrictive demand to force everyone to live just as everyone else cookie cutter same lifestyle, religion, worship the same way, dress the same, eat the same, … a community, town, city, country, world of people acting just alike. To me, that would be a nightmare and supremely boring. Hugs. Scottie
Thank you Scottie, I was glad to be of some help.
It is indeed a daunting task, with each reaction causing a separate re-action and so forth. Sometimes these turn into corrosive in-fighting between those who should be united such as some Transgender and Feminists groups; one which J K Rowling got caught up in.
And there’s the notorious in-fighting within the UK Labour Party, almost a tradition now very bitter.
Sadly those who will seek an opportunity to entrench their intolerant, prejudicial views will always take advantage of such splits.
There are times Scottie, when all one can do is seek out the main danger (in the USA’s case the extreme Right and their action toy Trump) and support the least worst credible alternative wherever and whenever. This is where the idea of Realpolitik comes in. Itself not a clean and really moral ground but sometimes is the only practical choice, while waiting for better times.
Hard times Scottie, hard times, worse than usual.
By the way. That last sentence:
“History teaches up these is no benefits for embracing Intolerance and Brutality, to do will come back on those who embrace, as nations, communities, or individuals.”
Should have read ‘History teaches there are no benefits embracing Intolerance and Brutality. To do so will come back on those who embrace as nations, communities or individuals’.
I really must proof read more before I post.
Take care you guys.
Roger & Sheila
Hi Roger & Sheila. I really like the idea of your line. “History teaches there are no benefits embracing Intolerance and Brutality …” To do so will come back on those who embrace as nations, communities or individuals’. I don’t have an enough history to have seen it and in my life … it seems to me a lot of times the people embracing intolerance and brutality are winning a lot longer than the periods where they pay for what they have done. During that time, the people on the targeted end do all the suffering. Hugs. Scottie
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Scottie's Playtime 
All these fight backs are gladden my grim heart.
It may be, I hope (and quietly pray) that the common sense and equality will prevail in the USA and this hate filled, hysteric, fanatical drive will be pushed back into a corner where they can have their own little twisted communities which everyone else ignore and despises.
As Churchill is reputed to have said (although disputed) “You can always count on American to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else”*
* To be fair to the average American this would relate to his frustration with American WWII politics and no doubt was reciprocated by FDR and his team.
Best wishes to you Scottie. Ron and all those liberals who seek moderation and toleration in society.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you Roger. I think these groups used both a stealth tactic and used the basic tendency of not paying attention by the public. People don’t understand how driven and fanatical these people are. I admit I don’t under it. I don’t understand being so driven to police how others live? Likewise, I don’t understand the need to control the sexual activities of others. In fact, I would rather not know what gets most people their jollies.
But some people either think they are that important (ego) or are trying so desperately to please their god to prove they are worthy of its love / favor for an afterlife. That means controlling what complete strangers read, watch, and do.
Roger, I trust you as a pretty spiritual Christian authority, as I do also with Rev. Ed Trevors. I don’t recall either of you saying you need to police the sexual activity of consensual adults. But I have read / heard both of you promote helping the disadvantaged with food, shelter, clothing, and emotional support.
So I ask you, what is really driving these people? Why deny books, why stifle education, why fight science, why try to stop the world understanding / society at a distant point in the past. Roger if there was a positive force, a powerful entity in the universe that has existed in the past and maybe / maybe not see the future, it seems very short-sighted to think it is not looking forward to what is coming next in human understanding or development. Instead of fixating on the past, that entity to me would be excited about the future growth and expansion / accepting / tolerating other humans ways, joys, and understandings.
Sorry, it is just a thought. See I don’t mean to be disrespectful but if there is a good and bad force like god vs devil, I don’t see it as the bible writes it. I see it more like my spouse does. He imagines a power / energy that wants good positive things that have an opposite negative energy force / power that fights against that. The ying yang thing. But we don’t apply a personality or assign a religion to these, only an energy to do positive or balance it out with negative energy.
Which means humans / all life has an ability to tap in to that energy and use either side to fuel them, to use either side to fuel them.
Sorry Roger, as an author and learned person, you may know far more about this or the thing I am trying to express than I ever can. I do look forward to your thoughts on this. You often give me many things to think on. Thank you. Hugs. Scottie
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Scottie.
Sorry for the delay in replying. Once again it was necessary to think upon your very pertinent questions.
There are volumes after volumes written about how folk impose their will on folks ranging from the subtle persuasive to the downright brutal and what are their motivations in doing so.
If you start off at the lesser end it’s usually because they think they have a great idea about something and wish to get other folk to share it and think the same way. Though they can get a bit snippy if they hit disagreements.
From there on you get the mix of fear and hate. The fear that those they disagree with or dislike will overrule them and take away their way of life. The hate being, that they just hate folk who are different; prejudice and intolerance being very powerful motivators.
For the extremist or radical (if taken too far) there can be no middle ground. This applies to areas of religion, politics and social interactions (and some types of economics). ‘With us or against us’ or in worst case scenarios ‘subdue, drive out, eradicate’. Outside of their narrow views there are no others which are not seen as threats to them. Which is where Conspiracy Theories and Denial of Climate change come in.
In justification they will meld and twist whatever works form the basis for the beliefs. In the case of Christian Religion because the Old and New Testaments (particularly the former) have been translated from Oral through several languages into the words they currently read which are a rich mine to selectively pick and choose. Thus instead of meditating and reflecting on contexts and motivations they simply look for the words which justify their already built in prejudices, and expand upon those. They do not look to be challenged or have a ‘Uh? How come’ or ‘Oh My. Now I get it,’ interludes. They do not consider the true power and meaning of Christ’s Death. In this Christ’s teaching to consider the sins of speaking ill of others, giving way to anger through intolerance are ignored. Thus the entire teachings are compressed into a perceived warped edict in which Intolerance and Narrow minded thinking are glorified.
In similar vein some those who seek freedom for their ethnicity do so at the sacrifice of freedom of other ethnicity. Political groups in the drive to seek to bring their beliefs for ‘the good of society’, would do so at the vilification and suppression of opposition. Likewise in social interactions.
I can write this with some backwards confidence Scottie because I have been prey to these dangers of intolerance and hard solutions, although mine have been directed in a political direction. All for the Good of Society of course, something like Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four -lite. I have been inside that mindset and still drift into it. Then I have to go back and admit to God and my Lord Jesus that I have been back sliding again.
Humanity is a flawed species wilfully or instinctively letting its intelligence be governed by baser drive, which were geared for survival of a species in simpler scenarios. We should have outgrown all of this. History teaches up these is no benefits for embracing Intolerance and Brutality, to do will come back on those who embrace, as nations, communities, or individuals.
Thank you for asking my opinions Scottie.
Take care you guys
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Roger. That was a wonderful and insightful / in depth reply. I love it. I had to reread a few parts here and there, then go back and read it as a whole to get the meaning of what you are trying to convey. See I was thinking on this in only one dimension at a time. I did not add all the possible driving forces together.
I guess that is why it is so hard to combat? Most people like me try to attack the issues / problems as a single cause, not many. I was thinking these people attack gays out of hate, they attack trans out of fear / lack of education or understanding, they demand everyone worship / live as they do out of ego. I never thought it could be all of that and more rolled into one driving force.
That is a daunting task Roger, because I admit I don’t understand the regressive restrictive demand to force everyone to live just as everyone else cookie cutter same lifestyle, religion, worship the same way, dress the same, eat the same, … a community, town, city, country, world of people acting just alike. To me, that would be a nightmare and supremely boring. Hugs. Scottie
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Thank you Scottie, I was glad to be of some help.
It is indeed a daunting task, with each reaction causing a separate re-action and so forth. Sometimes these turn into corrosive in-fighting between those who should be united such as some Transgender and Feminists groups; one which J K Rowling got caught up in.
And there’s the notorious in-fighting within the UK Labour Party, almost a tradition now very bitter.
Sadly those who will seek an opportunity to entrench their intolerant, prejudicial views will always take advantage of such splits.
There are times Scottie, when all one can do is seek out the main danger (in the USA’s case the extreme Right and their action toy Trump) and support the least worst credible alternative wherever and whenever. This is where the idea of Realpolitik comes in. Itself not a clean and really moral ground but sometimes is the only practical choice, while waiting for better times.
Hard times Scottie, hard times, worse than usual.
By the way. That last sentence:
“History teaches up these is no benefits for embracing Intolerance and Brutality, to do will come back on those who embrace, as nations, communities, or individuals.”
Should have read ‘History teaches there are no benefits embracing Intolerance and Brutality. To do so will come back on those who embrace as nations, communities or individuals’.
I really must proof read more before I post.
Take care you guys.
Roger & Sheila
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Roger & Sheila. I really like the idea of your line. “History teaches there are no benefits embracing Intolerance and Brutality …” To do so will come back on those who embrace as nations, communities or individuals’. I don’t have an enough history to have seen it and in my life … it seems to me a lot of times the people embracing intolerance and brutality are winning a lot longer than the periods where they pay for what they have done. During that time, the people on the targeted end do all the suffering. Hugs. Scottie
LikeLike