JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Duval County School Board is asking a judge not to grant an emergency injunction against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Law, also dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law by those against it.
This all stems from a lawsuit filed in August by parents, students, and nonprofits, claiming the law violates constitutional rights.
A plaintiff in the lawsuit, CenterLink, identified its member center in Duval County as the Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network (JASMYN).
The suit claims that since the law went into effect, the Duval County School Board has canceled meetings, blocked student referrals, and even stopped groups from participating with JASMYN.
The suit says that, "as a result of Defendants’ implementation of HB 1557, they [JASMYN] have been silenced and prevented from communicating information critical to their mission".
The lawsuit asks a judge to stop school districts from implementing the law.
But the Duval County School Board has responded saying that claims made in the lawsuit are false, and there is no proof of harm caused by the law and that a judge would have no merit to grant a preliminary injunction in this case.
They want the judge to continue to allow schools to enforce the law.
DCPS says meetings were canceled because they served no purpose, and that the school board has not changed any practices with JASMYN since the law went into effect.
The response from the DCPS states that, "There are no plausible allegations in the Complaint about a harm Plaintiff CenterLink has suffered; there are only allegations regarding speculative (and actually non-existent) harm to an ... member center in Duval County on whose behalf CenterLink is suing."
So what’s next? Legal expert Carrington 'Rusty' Mead explains.
“It'll be reviewed by the court, either by, you know, a special magistrate or we, you know, by a judge more than likely one of the judges," Carrington Rusty Mead, a LGBTQ+ lawyer, said. "And so what will happen is they'll review it, and they'll decide when that they need or want more information, or they can make a decision on the merits, just on the face of the pleads."
In a statement regarding the lawsuit DCPS says; "The district will always take steps necessary to comply with Florida laws. Any further district response will come within the context of the judicial proceedings."