From books to identity, Florida is cracking down.
On the heels of travel warnings issued by the NAACP and LULAC—as well as Equality Florida—for the state of Florida this past spring, all eyes are on the Sunshine State, particularly for members of historically underrepresented groups.
While not every Floridian agrees with the bans, laws, and policies in place—whether it’s about pulling books off library and school shelves, stopping any talk about sex education or gender identity among children, or driving with a specific license issued from one of four U.S. states—it’s important to know what’s going down.
As a traveler, you may not find that all (or any) of these things apply to your itinerary. But what you can do is support businesses—whether hotels, restaurants, retail shops, or attractions—in alignment with your beliefs if they are not shared by the state government or local school district.
You Can’t Include Certain Books in School Libraries
It’s not that certain books can’t be sold in Florida, or you’ll get thrown in jail if caught reading a banned book by the pool. This is about school districts and city governments creating a list of books they declare harmful for minors to read. In a law that went into effect on July 1, the use of any material (such as a book) containing “sexual conduct” must be discontinued in a school district.
According to Miami New Times, as of July 2022, at least 350 books were banned in Florida school districts. This includes Lake County Schools in Central Florida banning And Tango Makes Three, a 2005 children’s-picture book featuring two male penguins at New York City’s Central Park Zoo who adopt a penguin chick, and the 1999 book-turned-film by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, among the titles Escambia County School District purged from its shelves.
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You Can’t Drive a Car With a License From Certain States
Travelers—or new residents—in Florida who hold a driver’s license from Connecticut, Delaware, Vermont, and Hawaii, need to look at their license very, very carefully before renting a car or driving one’s own car in the state as a new law that went into effect on July 1. On the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ website, the rule is further outlined.
If a Connecticut-issued license has a DO (for driving only in that state), a Delaware-issued license reads “Driving Privilege Only – Not Valid for Identification,” or the license is one of four types from Hawaii (“Limited Purpose Driver’s License,” “Limited Purpose Instruction Permit,” “Limited Purpose Provisional Driver’s License” and “Not Valid for Use for Official Federal Purposes”) these are invalid.
You Can’t Access TikTok Using Wi-Fi in Some Areas
In late March, a new law from the Florida Board of Governors banning the usage of TikTok at some universities—including the University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Florida, and Florida Atlantic University—via the campus Wi-Fi was a serious jab at students. The cited reason: security risks. Then, in late June, the Florida Department of Education proposed restrictions on the students’ use of TikTok on school-owned devices or through their own devices but via the district’s Wi-Fi.
You Can’t Discuss Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity in Classrooms
In March of 2022, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed what opponents quickly dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. As NPR reported soon after, what this means is that any public-school teacher in Florida cannot discuss or instruct in the classroom about topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity. This applies to kindergarten through third grade and is based on an argument that parents get to decide when and how to talk to their children about these issues.
You Can’t Receive Gender-Affirming Care
First, there was a law, signed by DeSantis in May, on transgender children receiving gender-affirming care in Florida. In early June, the law was temporarily blocked by a U.S. judge. Also, in early June, the law was extended to adults. What this means is that an adult can only receive gender-affirming care from a physician. Many were receiving care through a nurse or telehealth. Examples of gender-affirming care are hormone treatments that either delay or promote development related to masculine or feminine characteristics, as well as counseling.
You Need to Be Careful About What Bathroom You Enter
HB 1521 is a law, signed in May, related to bathrooms in public buildings at schools and correction institutions. As FloridaPolitics.com states, under the guise of protecting “women’s safety,” it is now a crime to—in a public building—use a different bathroom than the one related to a gender assigned at birth.
In Some Schools, You Can’t Use Different Pronouns Than Those Assigned at Birth
A bill passed by Florida’s House and Senate in May explicitly says students and staff at a school can only refer to the student by pronouns that tie to what sex they were assigned at birth. This applies to students up to the eighth grade. It doesn’t matter if they or their students offer preferred pronouns. Those pronouns still cannot be used.
You Can’t Teach DEI or Critical Race Theory
A law that bans spending money towards any diversity, equity, and inclusion studies or programming at a Florida public college (whether a 2-year or a 4-year college) was signed by DeSantis in May. It went into effect on July 1. According to this NPR, DeSantis refers to the discussion of DEI as “a discriminatory practice.” The law also states that teaching cannot “distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics.”
You Can’t Compete in School Sports as a Transgender Athlete
One of DeSantis’ first controversial bills to be signed was in June of 2021, banning transgender girls and women from competing on a female team in school or college sports. It was to have taken effect on July 1st, 2021 but held up as the court of appeals considered a challenge to the bathroom bill, as the two overlap. For a transgender woman to play on a women’s team, she must display a birth certificate showing she was born a girl, which is, of course, impossible if someone has transitioned.
Great article! Hopefully this will help keep those out who would vote here the same way they vote in NY, CA, CT, etc and screw everything up just like in the state they are fleeing. It's simple. If you don't like the way we do things in FL don't move here!
"Florida Man" is the standard the right-wing idiots like DeInsanetis are striving for, and judging by many of the comments, they're reaching it! The state motto should be changed to, "Proud to be Stupid, but Striving to be Stupider!"