Florida Senate prepares to pass bill barring race-related instruction in public schools | Florida News | Orlando

The Florida Senate is poised to pass a controversial education bill that would limit the way certain race-related topics are taught in public schools, putting lawmakers a step away from fulfilling a legislative priority of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Republican-controlled Senate could vote on the bill (HB 7) as early as Thursday. The House passed the measure last month in a 74-41 vote along straight party lines, meaning it would be ready to go to DeSantis if senators pass it without making any changes.

The bill says that school instruction would constitute discrimination if it “compels” a student to believe certain concepts that are enumerated in the proposal.

For example, the bill targets instruction that would lead a person to believe that they bear “responsibility for, or should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of, actions committed in the past” by people of the same race or sex.

The measure similarly takes aim at lessons that would compel a student to “feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress because of actions, in which the person played no part” that were committed in the past by members of the same race or sex.

The bill does not specifically mention critical race theory, which is based on a premise that racism is embedded in American institutions. But the measure came after DeSantis last year announced a legislative proposal aimed at weeding out teaching of the theory in classrooms and the workplace. DeSantis dubbed the proposal the “Stop Wrongs Against Our Kids and Employees Act,” or Stop WOKE Act.

Senate sponsor Manny Diaz, a Hialeah Republican, for hours Wednesday fielded questions from Democrats about the part of the bill that deals with schools.

Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, asked Diaz “what problem are we trying to solve” with the measure.

“I think you’ve seen not only nationally but across our state, part of it is because of COVID, that parents are paying more attention to what’s going on in our schools,” Diaz replied. “And having those parents’ concerns brought forward has made us pay more attention to … what’s going on with our curriculum, what’s going on with the conversations at school board meetings.”

But Democrats hammered the bill as having the potential to create a “chilling” effect on educators, particularly when teaching historical events that involve violence or oppression between racial groups.

The bill, which was given the title “Individual Freedom” by supporters, also would label workplace training sessions discriminatory based on similar criteria. For instance, a training exercise would constitute discrimination if it were to cause an employee to feel “psychological distress” over actions committed in the past in which the employee played no part.

Senators rejected six proposed changes to the bill Wednesday that were filed by Democrats, including one that would have removed the part of the measure dealing with businesses’ training practices.

Sen. Annette Taddeo, a Miami Democrat who proposed the amendment, called the provision “a burden on our business community” and argued that it would leave businesses vulnerable to lawsuits.

“If we’re going to call ourselves the freest state in the country, we most definitely should not be telling private businesses what kind of training, or whether they can have diversity training at their workplace,” Taddeo said.

But Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, defended that part of the bill, saying that it “prevents bullying.”

“Some degree of unity is necessary for the success of any organization, family or business,” Burgess said, adding that the section of the bill dealing with businesses “clearly allows employers to provide the kind of instruction to employees which is necessary to have a unified workforce and successful company or organization.”

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