Erie County Times

Last week, members of the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs were joined by education and youth advocates to speak out against a bill that is heading to the Senate, which would restrict how teachers address various subjects in the classroom.

Senate Bill 1278 was described as a “copy-paste” version of the bill passed in Florida, according to a release by Gov. Tom Wolf’s office on June 22. The bill was introduced on June 10, approved by the Senate Education Committee, and is now on its way to the full Senate to be considered. The release called the bill discriminatory and a setback for human rights in Pennsylvania, while also being harmful to students. 

“Pennsylvania was founded on the basis of inclusion, and the Wolf Administration has fought to ensure that Pennsylvania will continue to be a state that welcomes and protects all of its residents,” said Rafael Álvarez Febo, executive director of the LGBTQ Affairs Commission. “This bill, which was introduced in the middle of Pride Month, is a cruel attempt to politicize LGBTQ people and deny their humanity in order to score cheap political points.”

Alvarez Febo said that calling LGBTQ people and topics “age inappropriate” is “fearmongering.” He added that bills like this cause LGBTQ teachers to conceal their identities and could lead to far-right hate groups acting violently.

LGBTQ Affairs Commissioner Freddy Pernell came out when he was a child and has seen first-hand the challenges presented.

“I was 11 years old when I first came out. I was scared when I realized that I was gay, since my home environment wasn’t the most affirming place,” said Freddy Pernell, commissioner for the LGBTQ Affairs Commission. “I was lucky that my school had a variety of experts and out teachers who I could go to for advice. These LGBTQ teachers became mentors that were crucial to my development into the person I am today. Efforts to keep conversations about identity out of schools will only hurt kids who are trying to come to discover who they really are.”

Psychologist Katharine Dalke works with adolescents and young adults and denounced the bill, as well. She said it would send a message to students and their families that there is something wrong, which would be detrimental to children who are already aware of their differences and could affect how they engage with classmates.

“Psychologists and educators have developed age-appropriate tools for talking about different kinds of families, relationships, and identities without talking about sex,” Dalke said. If we want to raise the next generation of Pennsylvanians to be happy and healthy, we must teach acceptance — not discrimination.”

Pennsylvania State Education Association President Rich Askey shared his concerns about censorship with teachers and “preventing them from valuing, affirming, and supporting students and their families because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,”

“Lawmakers should focus on the very real challenges facing our public schools right now, including reducing substitute and teacher shortages, hiring more mental health professionals in our schools, keeping our schools safe, and passing a state budget that properly funds public education,” said Askey. “Educators spend their lives teaching and supporting their students. We don’t need politicians telling us how to do our jobs.”