'Parenting with Pride' aims to take on conservative Moms for Liberty in Florida schools

Source: Orlando Sentinel

‘Parenting with Pride’ aims to take on conservative Moms for Liberty in Florida schools

Desiree Stennett, Orlando Sentinel
Tue, August 15, 2023 at 5:18 PM EDT·3 min read

ORLANDO, Fla. — About a dozen parents and supporters gathered outside Orange County Public Schools’ downtown headquarters to announce the start of Parenting with Pride, a new program launched by Equality Florida to combat conservative organizations like Moms for Liberty, which have pushed for new laws and policies that progressive activists fear have already begun to harm LGBTQ and minority students.

“This is what Florida families really look like,” said Brandon Wolf, spokesperson for Equality Florida as he gestured to the group of people with varying races, gender identities, sexualities and immigration statuses who had come to support the new initiative. “For years, parents and families just like the ones behind me have been under assault. … Politicians have waged war on these families turning their classrooms into political battlefields and descending school districts into utter chaos. But today marks a turning of the tide. Today marks a rise in the resistance against that agenda.”

A handful of parents spoke for the more than 1,000 families Wolf said have already joined the group across the state. They called for protection for LGBTQ students and teachers, an end to book bans and for the implementation of school curriculums that teach history truthfully.

As organizations like the Florida-based Moms for Liberty have gained more influence over school boards in Central Florida and across the state, they have championed policies that ban discussions about sexual orientation in schools, prohibit transgender student-athletes from playing on the teams that match their gender identity, and ban books, many by minority and LGBTQ authors.

Moms for Liberty, which was recently named an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center ...

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/parenting-pride-aims-conservative-moms-211800724.html