The Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs and other education and youth advocates recently spoke out against Senate Bill 1278, which is essentially a copy of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that was introduced in Florida.
According to a June 22 release by Gov. Tom Wolf’s office, SB 1278 was referred to as a “copy-paste” of the Florida bill. It was introduced on June 10 and approved by the Senate Education Committee, and will now go to the full Senate for consideration. The bill has been criticized widely for being harmful to students, discriminatory and a set back for human rights in Pennsylvania.
“I was 11 years old when I first came out. I was scared when I realized that I was gay, since my home environment wasn’t the most affirming place,” said Freddy Pernell, commissioner for the LGBTQ Affairs Commission. “I was lucky that my school had a variety of experts and out teachers who I could go to for advice. These LGBTQ teachers became mentors that were crucial to my development into the person I am today. Efforts to keep conversations about identity out of schools will only hurt kids who are trying to come to discover who they really are.”
Pennsylvania State Education Association President Rich Askey shared his concern about the censorship of educators, and what that would mean for supporting students and families in the area of sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Lawmakers should focus on the very real challenges facing our public schools right now, including reducing substitute and teacher shortages, hiring more mental health professionals in our schools, keeping our schools safe, and passing a state budget that properly funds public education,” said Askey. “Educators spend their lives teaching and supporting their students. We don’t need politicians telling us how to do our jobs.”
Psychologist Katharine Dalke does work with adolescents and young adults and she said that when human diversity is not discussed, a message is sent that something is wrong. She shared similar concerns as Askey about the bill.
“This puts children who are already aware of their difference at risk and teaches all children to marginalize their classmates,” said Dalke. “Psychologists and educators have developed age-appropriate tools for talking about different kinds of families, relationships, and identities without talking about sex. If we want to raise the next generation of Pennsylvanians to be happy and healthy, we must teach acceptance — not discrimination.”
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