TagLGBTQ

• Vicki Baggett, an English teacher at Northview High School in Florida, is pushing for the Escambia County School District to remove nearly 150 books from school libraries, claiming they could make white students “feel uncomfortable.”
• Former and current students allege Baggett openly promoted racist and homophobic beliefs in class, including opposing interracial marriage and questioning why black people get tattoos in black ink.
• Baggett is also a member of the Daughters of the Confederacy and defended posting an image of the Confederate Flag to her Facebook page.
• Baggett has challenged books with LGBTQ themes, claiming they promote the “LGBTQ agenda.”
• A Northview parent emailed the principal in 2019 objecting to Baggett’s classroom conduct, including her comments that homosexuals are “DUMB/STUPID” and that men and women should “Know Their Role.”
• A current student in Baggett’s 12th grade English class alleges Baggett played an audio version of A Good Man Is Hard to Find that included the unredacted racial slur.
• The Escambia County School District condemned any form of discriminatory speech but did not answer questions about Baggett’s behavior.

Published January 9, 2023. Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post.

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed the Parental Rights in Education Act in March 2022, which critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
• Despite DeSantis’ claims that the bill only prohibits “sexual instruction” directed at young students, several Florida schools have already removed books with LGBTQ characters from their libraries, citing the Parental Rights in Education Act.
• The Florida Department of Education is currently in the process of developing a training for school librarians regarding the selection of library materials, which encourages librarians to remove books with LGBTQ themes from elementary school libraries by conflating the standards for instructional materials and library books.
• A group of LGBTQ students and their parents have filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging that the law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

Published January 5, 2023. Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post.