As someone who previously lived in Florida, I’m appalled with the states’ new sex-ed and literature policies. The newer laws ban any type of sexual discussion, both in classrooms and books. If our leaders can’t educate the youth, they’re dooming the generations to come. 

When I went to school in Florida, I transferred from my public middle school to a private one. While there, the educational policies, especially sex-related ones, were pretty strict – no mentions of sex in classroom reading, no required sex-ed course, and no gender related discussion in the classroom.

It’s only recently that dictionaries and autobiographies are being pulled for having “sexual content.” Previously, rules only applied to queer and gender studies in the classroom, and sex education had adequate classing.  I think it’s time we ask ourselves why policies are working in reverse.

This new legislation restricts discussion on race, gender, sexual orientation, and sex. Policies, such as the book ban in late 2023 that prohibit sex-related discussion, are not only stunting the knowledge and maturity of students, but are directly going against the freedoms that America claims to stand for. When lawmakers choose to block basic teaching, and vitally important books like dictionaries or the life story of Anne Frank, we have to ask ourselves why. Is it really about learning? 

Florida is choosing to raise a generation of sex-ignorant and mindless adults. Not that sex is hugely vital to younger students, but it pertains to a broad variety of crucial topics: human anatomy, biology and life, safety and contraception, date rape and protecting yourself. The list goes on and on. 

Raising students who are uneducated about sex does not prevent them from having sex in high school, it just prevents them from having it safely. It’s the politicians that preach a lack of sex-ed who do nothing to help those already harmed by a lack of it – pregnant teenagers, those in foster care and adoption, victims of assault. 

Florida governor Ron DeSantis is not a hero for spreading his stupidity, nor is he helping any students. He’s the blind leader purposefully gouging the eyes out of those he governs, and blinding them along with him.

Without sex-ed and meaningful literature that tackles these sometimes difficult topics, students can’t approach them at the age they need to. The older you get, the harder it is to open your mind to new ideas and critically think in an unbiased way. It’s time we allow children to do this during the stage that matters most, and in the place designed to help them learn: schools.

“As the world goes mad, Florida represents a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy,” DeSantis said in a press conference, after implementing this legislature. 

Progression and educating our youth has never equated to madness. When we tolerate ignorance in Florida schools, we enable it to spread to other schools. It’s time to educate our youth, even when the topic is awkward.