Clay Calvert, director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project and Brechner Eminent Scholar in Mass Communication at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, is quoted in “Does Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Violate the First Amendment?” published in The Hill on March 5.

The story focuses on the upcoming vote on the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would prevent primary school teachers from addressing sexual orientation or gender identity in a way that is “age inappropriate or developmentally inappropriate” for students. The proposed bill has ignited national outrage. Students can communicate freely, but teachers would not be allowed to chime in.

“When a teacher in the classroom in a public school is delivering the curriculum that they are assigned to teach, their First Amendment rights are going to be very limited in that context,” said Calvert.

But Calvert warned of a very likely “chilling effect,” where teachers would be inclined to censor themselves over fear of retribution from parents, who under the bill would be granted greater authority to sue school districts believed to be in violation of “Don’t Say Gay.”

Posted: March 7, 2022
Category: College News, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project News
Tagged as: Clay Calvert, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project