The law prohibits teaching sexual orientation. If discussing families with two dads violates this law, then discussing families with one mom and one dad must necessarily also violate it. Interpretation about what is/isn't appropriate is left to the Florida Department of Education, but the law itself preserves equality. Note also that without this law, it would also be legal for teachers to teach that gay people don't exist or any manner of right-wing ideology.
That's a nice theory, but there's little reason to believe it will work like that instead of working like it does basically everywhere else that tries such laws. "Don't discuss" turns into "tacitly ignore it for the 'norm' because it's impossible to not acknowledge it, single out 'deviations'". See also things like content filters treating any LGBT content as "adult", regardless of it being explicit in any way or not.
That's the obvious concern with the law, especially if you add such a "parents can sue" mechanism and with the political environment around. Any parent that sues over discussing families with one mom and one dad will look like a nutjob and loose, but parents suing over two dads appearing in a childrens book will have very legitimate concerns that have to be taken seriously.
Time will tell if that concern is wrong, but I'm not giving that scenario much chance.
> That's a nice theory, but there's little reason to believe it will work like that instead of working like it does basically everywhere else that tries such laws. "Don't discuss" turns into "tacitly ignore it for the 'norm' because it's impossible to not acknowledge it, single out 'deviations'".
You and I seem to inhabit very different realities. Pushing boundaries (especially in the name of equality) is glorified in American culture, and has been since the 60s and 70s. "Subversiveness" is a virtue. Moreover, the left dominates cultural institutions (media, entertainment, academia, etc)--the idea that any speech is going to be quelled over this seems ridiculous. Anything that one attempts to suppress gets amplified (Streisand Effect).
If conservative parents sue to block the discussion of homosexual content, liberal parents can sue to block the discussion of normatively heterosexual content. The ACLU and other progressive organizations exist for exactly these kinds of cases.
> Any parent that sues over discussing families with one mom and one dad will look like a nutjob and loose,
1. Again, you and I seem to live in very different Americas if you think suing for equality is unpopular. Such a suit would be national news, and the plaintiffs would enjoy unfailingly favorable treatment by the national press (save for Fox News) which famously skews left on precisely these kinds of social issues.
2. IANAL, but I would think it would be relatively straightforward to point to all of the cases where the courts interpreted discussing same sex parents as "teaching sexual orientation". Seems like a slam dunk, and I wouldn't be surprised if lawyers would take the case pro bono just to make a name for themselves with all of the national press coverage.
