States “have a strong interest” in protecting parent rights, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued in a brief filed last month in support of Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The amicus brief, filed by a coalition of 14 state attorneys general, led by Texas, defended Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act law which prohibits classroom instruction involving “sexual orientation or gender identity” through third grade, but some have challenged as harmful and vague.
Students, parents and teachers have challenged Florida’s law — passed in March 2022 — in federal court, arguing that it discriminates against the LGBTQ community and violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia recently signed on in support of the lawsuit, arguing the law is harmful and could have “severe negative health impacts on LGBTQ+ students.”
