Florida Rep. Joe Harding removed his latest amendment less than an hour before it was to be voted on the House floor. The Parental Rights in Education bill, better known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, requires schools to inform parents of students' sexual orientation and places a notification deadline for the institutions. The amendment was proposed on Friday and removed Tuesday.
In a public statement, Rep. Harding explained his decision behind revoking the amendment.
"The exaggeration and misrepresentation in reporting about the amendment was a distraction; all the amendment did was create procedures around how, when and how long information was withheld from parents so that there was a clear process and kids knew what to expect," Harding said, according to USA Today. "Nothing in the amendment was about outing a student. Rather than battle misinformation related to the amendment, I decided to focus on the primary bill that empowers parents to be engaged in their children's lives."
Harding also shared he's received various online threats on Twitter and blamed media outlets for creating false narratives.
"This is a typical comment or message I have received," he tweeted. "This is why the media lying to the public is so dangerous. The numerous threats on myself and my family are the direct fault of people that no better, but lie to get clicks."
The amendment, proposed in January, would also ban school instruction on LGBTQ+ people and issues, according to The Hill.
The bill's first draft included an exemption from outing children due to cases where there could be suspicions leading to child abuse, neglect, or abandonment. According to the amendment's instruction, that safety rule was removed, NewsNation Now reports.
The amendment's revision prompts school leaders to "develop a plan, using all available governmental resources," to notify parents "through an open dialogue in a safe, supportive, and judgment-free environment that respects the parent-child relationship and protects the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of the student," according to WFLA.
It is unclear how the state would have dealt with students facing abuse, as the plan did not discuss authorities would protect the students' mental, emotional and physical well-being. The bill did not mention that Florida makes it mandatory for teachers and other school officials to report cases of abuse to the Florida Department of Children and Family Services.
In states like Tennessee and Kansas, legislatures have restricted how textbooks and curricula teach LGBTQ+ topics, who can be hired and what educators are allowed to teach about the topic of gender identity.
