MIAMI, Florida - After intense pressure from their local communities, the School Board of Miami-Dade County Public Schools voted NO on recognizing October 2023 as LGBTQ History Month.
On September 6th, the Miami-Dade School Board met for their monthly board meeting. The meeting, which convened at 11am and lasted for over 13 hours, saw hundreds of citizens speak on item H-11 during the public comment portion of the meeting.
This is the third consecutive year that School Board Member Lucia Baez Gellar has sponsored H-11.
In 2021, the board voted unanimously in favor of passing the proposal.
In 2022 when Baez-Gellar sought to pass the proposal again, H-11 was met with intense pushback from the community, as well as Miami-Dade County Citizens Defending Freedom, who promised legal recourse if the proposal passed. After multiple concerns were brought to light surrounding the inclusion of age-inappropriate instructional and supplemental materials, the usurpation of parental rights, and the absence of opt-out provisions, the school board unanimously voted NO on passing H-11.
Now in 2023, Baez-Gellar once again sought to pass H-11. “Recent aggressive antifa attacks in Miami have slowed local conservative grassroots efforts,” stated members of Miami-Dade Citizens Defending Freedom. “The community strongly feels this was seen as an opportunity to defy parental choice and present H-11 once again.”
Despite local efforts to quiet conservative voices, hundreds attended the school board meeting to speak out against the proposal.
Ericsson Aguilar, a former gay man and drag queen urged the board to vote NO. “H-11 is a trojan horse to speak to students about LGBTQ topics without parental consent. This is not about teaching history, this is about indoctrination. A yes vote will set a dangerous precedent. A yes vote tells parents and students your sexual desires are more important than your achievements. I urge this board to vote NO.”
“LGBTQ puts fake ideas inside children minds, escaping problems instead of confronting them. What are we cowards?” Anna Reyes, a 14-year-old student asked. “Supporting this would be supporting the conflict within us. Mind knowing one thing and the body desiring for something else. Such things with this contradiction are doomed to perish. Implementing H-11 in schools will just make matters worse. Supporting a problem is not solving the problem.”
After over 8 hours of public comment, both for and against H-11, the board ultimately rejected the proposal in a 5-3 vote, with Baez-Gellar, Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, and Ms. Luisa Santos seeking to pass the proposal.
“We want to thank Board Members Tere Rojas, Espino, Alonso, Blanco, and Colucci,” stated Isabella Rodriguez, Executive Director for Miami-Dade County Citizens Defending Freedom, “for not only upholding state laws, but for listening to the parents and citizens of Miami-Dade and protecting parental rights and the minds of the children."
Founded in 2021, Citizens Defending Freedom is a non-profit organization that strategically operates in counties across America to help citizens defend their faith and freedom, all while fighting for transparency in local government. Currently, Citizens Defending Freedom is established in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Texas, with plans to continue expanding across America. Click here to learn more about Citizens Defending Freedom.