Florida’s House of Representatives passed on Thursday the “Stop WOKE Act,” House Bill 7 / Senate Bill 148, which prohibits teaching critical race theory in K-12 schools and bans “school districts, colleges and universities from hiring woke CRT consultants,” according to The Hill.
The act also would limit the discussion of systemic racism, gender, and race discrimination, suggesting teaching these concepts “widen racial divisions.”
The legislation still requires approval in the Senate and must be signed by Governor Ron DeSantis to become law.
DeSantis described the act as a tool to “fight back against woke indoctrination” in companies and public institutions.
“We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other. We also have a responsibility to ensure that parents have the means to vindicate their rights when it comes to enforcing state standards. Finally, we must protect Florida workers against the hostile work environment that is created when large corporations force their employees to endure CRT-inspired ‘training’ and indoctrination,” he said.
The law has been criticized by various human rights advocacy groups who insist that it infringes on protected speech and “fuels the discriminatory agenda” of certain legislators. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the implementation of Senate Bill 148 would change Florida's employment discrimination statutes and enable employees to sue company management that forces workers to participate in “trainings or discussion about Black history, LGBTQ+ issues and other concepts of injustice and discrimination.”
“This bill is a thinly veiled political attempt to attack marginalized communities. It doesn’t address the critical needs of Floridians, but instead, fuels the discriminatory agenda of extremist legislators,” said Cathryn M. Oakley, state legislative director and senior counsel at HRC, in a statement.
Last month, Florida’s Education Committee approved the “Individual Freedom” bill that prohibits discrimination against a person based on race, sex or national origin. It also forbids providing trainings that make people believe “that an individual bears responsibility for, or should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, sex or national origin.”
Another proposal, known as the Parental Rights in Education bill or “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” would ban teachers from discussing with children in primary school sexual orientation and gender identity, leaving it to the discretion of parents.
Supporters of the legislation, which was introduced in the Florida Senate earlier this month, believe it protects the right of parents to decide what their children are taught. Activists argue that the bill would violate the rights of LGBT+ community members.