Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Friday that regulates schools and businesses from teaching “inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”
Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 7 or “Individual Freedom” into law at a press conference in Mater Academy Charter Middle/High School in Hialeah Gardens on Friday.
The new law is to end corporate and educational indoctrination in Florida and will take effect on July 1, 2022.
WPTV reported:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed into law a controversial bill that critics said will drastically limit race education in schools.
HB 7, formally called the “Individual Freedom” measure, bans educators from teaching certain topics related to race and is designed, in part, to prevent teachers from making students feel guilt or shame about their race because of historical events.
“We believe in education, not indoctrination,” DeSantis said at a news conference. “We believe an important component of freedom in the state of Florida is the freedom from having oppressive ideologies opposed upon you without your consent.”
The bill, which was passed by the Florida Legislature in March, bans educators from teaching students critical race theory, the concept that “one race, color, national origin, or sex are morally superior to members of another race, color, national origin, or sex” and that “a person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”
“We are not gonna use your tax dollars to teach our kids to hate this country or to hate each other,” DeSantis said.
Minutes after the bill was signed into law, Democrats filed a lawsuit challenging the new law claiming that it violated First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Tallahassee Democrats reported:
A group of plaintiffs from across Florida have filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody and others challenging the constitutionality of HB7.
The plaintiffs include an educator from Tallahassee, a high school teacher from Manatee County, a professor at the University of Central Florida and a young girl enrolling in kindergarten in the fall.
They alleged House Bill 7, a law signed Friday that will ban critical race theory in K-12 schools, violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. They filed the complaint Friday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Florida.