Dr. Eva Goldfarb Comments on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Law

The Florida State Senate passed a controversial law; It bans curriculum teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in children from kindergarten through third grade. Teachers should also not talk about these topics to older children and young people in a way that is “inappropriate for the age of the students.”

Dr. Eva Goldfarb, Professor in the Public Health Department, has concerns, having worked in the sex education field for 25 years, as well as training educators across the United States, and co-authoring a US National Standard Program on Sex Education.

“Sex education and the discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity should start very early in a form appropriate to age and development, even in kindergarten,” she emphasized. “Children are naturally curious and start asking questions, for example when they see a pregnant woman. And what if they themselves have two mothers, two fathers, or perhaps a gay brother? The task of educators and teachers is to help them understand these things so that they don’t frighten them and aren’t taboo.”