HB 1557 is headed to the floor of the Florida House next Tuesday Feb 22. This is a substantive bill that expands the Parents Rights bill signed into law last year by Governor DeSantis. Florida Citizens Alliance strongly supports this bill. The bill does the following: -Reinforces the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children. -Prohibits a school district from adopting procedures or student support forms that prohibit school district personnel from notifying a parent about specified health related information or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such information -Prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity for grade levels k-3 -Authorizes a parent to bring an action against a school district to obtain a declaratory judgment that a school district procedure or practice violates certain provisions of law and provides for the additional award of injunctive relief, damages, and reasonable attorney fees and court costs to certain parents. Again, Florida Citizens Alliance strongly supports this bill. If it passes the House it will be messaged to the Senate. The compare bill in the Senate (SB 1834) passed its first committee but still has to be heard in Appropriations and Rules Committees. Passing this bill in the House will send a strong message to the Senate to get moving.
