ORLANDO, Fla. — An after-school event involving a drag queen has been canceled after the Florida Department of Education reached out to the Orange County School District and threatened to investigate school staff over the event.

The event was called “Drag & Donuts,” and had happened twice before as part of a regular meeting of the Boone High School Queer and Ally Alliance.

Jason Deshazo, whose stage name is Momma Ashley Rose, said he was going to share his story as a queer person, encourage acceptance of LGBTQ people and answer any questions interested students had. No performance was planned.

“No one was forced to go — no one has ever been forced to go from what I can understand, and again, it’s kind of ridiculous that this could be such an issue when I even heard there are religious events going on after school and no one is stopping them and no one is having any issue,” said DeShazo. “It’s definitely an attack on our queer kids, and it’s really sad.”

But Orange County School Board member Alicia Farrant said she received numersous complaints about the upcoming event.

“I had dozens of parents contacting me who had dozens of parents contacting them, saying that this was inappropriate and wondering why they were having this on school campus,” she said.

Farrant said she’s going to push for more detailed guidelines on what types of speakers are allowed on school grounds.

“It was an after-school event, but it was an inappropriate event for this venue," she said. "We’re held to a higher standard as educators."

Boone High School’s principal sent a message out to parents saying the event was canceled after the school district got a call from state education leaders. The department, he said, threatened to investigate any school administrator or staff member who attended the event, and that their professional license could be in jeopardy as a result.

Judi Hayes, a public education advocate with two sons — one of which attends Boone High School and is an LGBTQ ally — said she knows several people in the school’s Queer and Ally Alliance. 

“As a mom, I feel like it’s so important for kids to have a safe space to learn and to be free to learn about whatever they want to learn about,” she said.

Hayes said she believed the gathering was appropriate, but canceling it wasn’t.

“It’s a different world than it was for those of us who went to school in the 80s and 90s," she said. "It’s more prevalent that there are people who identify as LGBTQ, and it’s just what the world looks like now."

Hayes said the group’s meeting still went on as scheduled, but without the drag queen appearance. She says her son attended, and took part in a discussion about what opponents say are anti-LGBTQ policies working their way through the current Florida legislative session.