SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Gov. DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill on Monday, which means it will become law on July 1. Dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill by critics, it will affect school districts and teachers.

Administrators with the Orange and Seminole County school districts tell us it’s too early to talk about specific steps they’ll be taking to adhere to the new law. The bill prohibits teachers from leading discussions about sexual identity and gender orientation in kindergarten through third grade, but also other grades where that would be considered not appropriate.

A Seminole County teacher worries the new law could make some students not feel welcomed in her classroom.

“I want children to know they can talk to me if there are bad or dangerous things going on in their life, and if I shut them down – even unintentionally – because I’m just trying to make sure I don’t run afoul of this law like this, then I’ve just taken away a child’s opportunity to have a safe adult to communicate with,” said Melinda Wimbish, a social studies and language arts teacher at Goldsboro Elementary in Sanford.

“What happens when those words come up in my classroom? Does that lead me to have to shut things down and potentially make a child feel like they’re not welcome in my room, because that’s the last thing I want as a teacher. I want every child to know they’re safe and comfortable in my classroom,” said Wimbish.

Legislators who supported the bill say it’s not designed to eliminate conversation that happens to come up, but prevent organized discussion about sexual identity and gender that aren’t appropriate for certain age levels.

A local attorney who says while teachers can’t be sued directly, school districts can be and potentially face action by the state, but he says the bill is written so vaguely that there might not be as many lawsuits as you might expect.

“For example, it talks about classroom instruction. Well what does that mean? And I would imagine a lot of things will be dealt with locally, administratively to address concerns, because nobody is going to want the hassle and expense to go up to that next level of administrative hearings, lawsuits and all of that,” said Jim Hattaway.

But Hattaway believes cases that are filed against school districts have a good chance of holding up in court because the Supreme Court has not granted members of the LGBTQ community protections like other groups in society.