Miami-Dade School Board member shocked at rejection of LGBTQ National History Month
MIAMI – Miami-Dade School Board members voted 8-1 rejecting a motion to make October LGBTQ National History Month.
The vote coming in Wednesday night and upsetting many.
Lucia Baez Geller is the one who proposed the idea to make October LGBTQ History month.
She says it's shocking to see how many of her colleagues voted against the provision.
She thinks some of them are worried about backlash from Tallahassee and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"It's a scary time as well, especially with the removal of the board members in Broward. I believe many colleagues who may have supported it didn't do so because of that," says Baez Geller.
Baez Geller says last year she proposed October as LGBTQ observance month and it passed with the majority of votes.
This was the first and only year the month was observed.
"To me LGBTQ history month is a symbolic gesture. It shows we welcome and respect people from all backgrounds," she says.
This year, quite a different response, with eight of the nine board members rejecting her proposal.
"8-1 is sound trouncing. It's not like it snuck by one way or the other with just a single vote. I'm hoping it wakes up the LGBTQ leadership of this community; the business people, the elected officials," says Scott Galvin, executive director of Safe Schools South Florida.
More than 100 people spoke to the school board. Some of them pushing for inclusivity.
"You cannot pretend gay people don't exist," said one woman.
While others say this type of provision violates their parental rights.
"I'd like to think that the money I'm paying in my taxes is not going towards this type of fight but to the education of my grandchildren," explained one man.
One provision under the proposed resolution would have allowed teachers to discuss legal cases surrounding gay marriage.
"The two Supreme Court cases we asked to include are American law. They're U.S. government and it was for 12th graders so it's completely within the statues of parental rights and education bill which dictates things for kindergarten through third grade," says Baez Geller.
Galvin says it's important for students to understand the struggles the LGBTQ community faced and the equality they continue to fight for.
"It validates what the kids' experiences are and what led to the moment we're all in right now. Any time we start censoring speech in a classroom it's not a good thing," he says.
We reached out to all eight school board members who voted down the measure last night.
School board member Lubby Navarro wasn't available for an interview and the other members didn't return our emails or phone calls.
Meanwhile, Steve Gallon, Vice Chair of the Miami-Dade County School Board, had this to say, "The School Board of Miami-Dade County is committed to the provision and protection of the educational, emotional, and mental well-being of all students. In doing so, we will continue to embrace, respect, and support the individuality and uniqueness of all students. As a School Board, we also recognize the critical role and voice that parents play in the education and upbringing of their children, and respects and adheres to all laws governing such. I believe that the action of the Board last evening reflected a commitment to both our students and compliance with the law."
