As Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill continues to move through the legislature, parents and mental health experts warn this could be dangerous for some students. 

Florida House Bill 1557 and Senate Bill 1834 would essentially make it difficult for any kind of discussion around sexual orientation or gender identity to happen inside schools. 

Part of the bill states: “A school district may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”

The vague wording in that last sentence has many LGBTQ advocates concerned about how the bill could be implemented. 

But supporters of the bill say the goal of the legislation is making sure discussions like this don’t happen without parental knowledge. In a recent press briefing Gov. Ron DeSantis said that’s why he supports the bill. 

“We want parents to be able to have access to what’s going on in the classroom, and certainly, it is inappropriate to be hiding these things from parents,” he said. 

The bill also states that parents can sue school districts who they believe are violating this law. 

But Olympia High School senior Delaney Ocock said she feels like this bill could really hurt a lot of LGBTQ students. 

When you hear her sing, you can tell she’s been doing this a while. 

“I’ve been singing in a choir for 12 years, but I’ve kind of grown up singing because my mom’s a singer, my grandma’s a singer,” Ocock said. 

She used the choir room at her church to rehearse some of the pieces she’s performing for a solo and ensemble competition. 

But singing is just one of the many things that keep this high school senior busy. 

“I’m the president of my school’s GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance), and my school’s environmental action club," she said. "I founded it and I’m the president, I’m also in the music honors society, I’m involved with my church, and the national honors society and the choir at school."

Ocock said she loves expressing herself through her music. 

But another important part of expressing herself is openly identifying as LGBTQ. 

She says coming out at a young age, she was fortunate to be accepted by her family, school community and even church.

 “Because I came out when I was 11, and I was immediately accepted, and I kind of joked that I was born into a pride parade because my parents they’re so welcoming and so accepting,” Ocock said. 

Serving as the president of her school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, she says she’s learned how fortunate she’s been. 

“I know a lot of kids in GSA have not had that same experience, and I know that for a lot of these kids school is their only place to feel that they are valid in who they are,” she said. 

That is why she said she was upset to hear about Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. 

Bill supporters say this is to make sure that only parents have those types of discussions with their kids, not educators. 

But Ocock said for some of these kids, they only feel safe talking to educators or classmates. 

“They don’t have parents who will educate them about that, then when they educate themselves they’re not going to support them in that," she said. "So it’s really important they have those spaces at school."

Ocock couldn’t imagine a world where she wasn’t allowed to express herself through music. 

And she doesn’t want kids to live in a world where they feel they can’t express their true selves. 

“So I think it’s really important that today’s kids are able to grow up knowing they are completely accepted for who they are,” she said. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Department of Health and Human Resources, LGBTQ youth are more likely to attempt suicide than non-LGBTQ teens. 

Marni Stahlman, head of the Mental Health Association of Central Florida, said she believes this bill will send a message that could increase the amount of negative mental health outcomes among the young LGBTQ population.  

“It sends a message to our kids and our families that it’s not OK to be yourself, it’s not okay to talk about who you are, and more importantly, that you can’t expect to welcomed and loved for who you are,” she said. 

Stahlman traveled to Tallahassee this week to speak out against this bill.