The Lawsuit That Sparked Florida's Anti-Grooming Bill

Background: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just signed Florida’s H.B. 1557, dubbed by critics the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and by proponents as an “anti-grooming” bill. The bill prevents teachers from teaching sexual identity and other LGBTQ ideologies to children in kindergarten through third grade.

The lawsuit: Florida’s H.B. 1557 was sparked by a federal civil rights lawsuit where a Florida public school groomed a 13-year-old girl to embrace a different gender identity in school settings.

The 13-year-old girl: The Littlejohn’s possibly non-binary daughter, referred to as A.G. in court filings, asked her parents to allow her to adopt a new nickname. The parents were hesitant but allowed A.G to use a nickname in school while explicitly declining the school's efforts to embrace her as non-binary.

Private meetings: The parents became aware that the school was meeting with their daughter privately and pressuring her to embrace a different gender identity at school. The child was asked to consider which bathroom she wanted to use when she had no interest in making such a decision.