Think about the school you’d like your child to attend. You might expect it to be a positive learning environment that encourages creativity and identity while helping to give kids the invaluable lessons and skills they need to succeed in the future. Yet, while this may be the reality for many, it’s a different story for others, especially members of the LGBTQ community.
Florida’s schools have a long way to go when it comes to making LGBTQ kids feel safe. According to a recent survey conducted by the LGBTQ advocacy group GLSEN, the vast majority of LGBTQ students in our state regularly heard homophobic remarks, and many even reported school staff making them. Additionally, many experienced bullying and harassment in our state’s schools, and most failed to receive staff intervention to help.
Recognizing this climate and the work that must be done, it has never been more critical for us to do everything we can to protect the spaces where LGBTQ youth can be themselves and access the vital resources they need to explore their identities or access potentially lifesaving mental health help. This is especially true when considering new research that indicates that over 60% of LGBTQ adults joined online platforms before they turned 18 to access resources and find support and community.
Unfortunately, Congress is now threatening to pass a bill that could not only restrict access to these spaces but also limit the content allowed online — which stands to disproportionately impact the LGBTQ community.
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is meant to introduce new protections for kids online, and that’s a goal that we all share. But while it may have admirable origins, partisan-fueled inclusions to give sweeping powers to state and federal regulators — vaguely mandating social media companies regulate any content that could be construed as harmful to minors — have turned it into something else entirely. The final version of KOSA goes from establishing reasonable guidelines to creating a new legal precedent for censorship online, one which partisan attorneys general will eagerly exploit to take down the things they deem unfit for children to see, including LGBTQ content. Meanwhile, since KOSA doesn’t require data collection to verify users’ age, restrictions foisted on the public by state and federal regulators are destined to impact the content available to all, not just kids.
Safe Schools South Florida stands at the forefront of advocacy, fighting for the rights of LGBTQ youth, educators and parents in the South Florida community by standing up to bad policies that negatively impact our schools or our students. We believe there is no question that KOSA will create a worse environment for LGBTQ students, who already face challenges in the classroom. Adding new barriers to access the spaces they rely on as a refuge could worsen things dramatically.
As Congress works through the final bills of this year and legislative session, we sincerely hope they do so without passing the deeply flawed Kids Online Safety Act. We should consider its passage only after seriously considering its pitfalls and amending its broad language to ensure we do not arm hate with a new censorship apparatus.
Scott Galvin is the executive director of Safe Schools South Florida. He lives in North Miami.