Florida is waging a battle against the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming youth, with Republican legislators implementing a wave of new laws that could profoundly redefine K-12 and higher education in the state. House Bill 1069, proposed by a Florida Republican lawmaker, seeks to restrict educational materials used in state schools as well as to require instruction in sexual health in grades 6-12. Rep. Dennis sat down during a hearing on the bill during a hearing. Rep. Ashley Gantt (D) asked Rep. Stan McClain (R) if this would prohibit young girls from talking about their periods at school, to which McClain responded "It would". McClain later clarified that it "would not be the intent" of the bill to punish girls if they come to teachers with questions or concerns about their menstrual cycle, adding that he would be "amenable" to amendments if they were to come up. The bill passed with a party line vote of 13-5. It also calls for schools to teach how "sex is determined by biology and reproductive function at birth" and "these reproductive roles are binary, stable and unchangeable". In addition, it would give parents the right to limit the types of library books their children can check out. I
The Florida Board of Medicine has enforced a rule that bars the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapies or surgeries to treat gender dysphoria for anyone under 18 years of age. Republican legislators have also advanced a bill through the Senate to make it a felony to provide any gender-affirming care to minors and ban state funds from being used to cover the same care for adults. Critics have likened the bill to banning books and called it "egregious", with Annie Filkowski of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates saying that "young Floridians will suffer if this legislation becomes law". I
The new laws have been met with backlash from trans activists who argue that they contradict medical evidence. Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to President Biden’s criticism of the ban, stating that it is not "sinful" to prohibit the mutilation of minors. Several other states, including Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota and Utah, are implementing similar bans, which could have devastating consequences for transgender and gender-nonconforming youth in those areas.