Forging Ahead in Florida: A Cross-Institutional Approach to Bans & Legislative Restrictions

An alarming number of legislative bills and regulatory bans around race, sexuality and gender in education and medical treatment have been enacted in the last few years. Many view this as a response to social justice movements to bring awareness and action to the ongoing oppressive experiences of black, indigenous, brown, queer, trans and gender non-conforming living in America. This is particularly true in several states across the nation and Florida is one of these. In fact Florida is the first state in the country where not only was legislation adopted regulating teaching about racism, sexuality & gender in educational settings but it is officially the first state wherein the state’s medical board voted to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth. In this talk we will briefly review the legislative & regulatory impacts in education & healthcare in Florida. We will then primarily focus on strategies for counselor educators, counselors & trainees navigating this climate.