A Florida school district is cutting the classics from its curricula as DeSantis administration makes some passages of Shakespeare a no-go

• In an effort to comply with Florida's expanded-upon "Don't Say Gay" law, one school district is no longer asking students to read Shakespeare in its entirety.
• Originally passed in 2022 and expanded in 2023, the law in part allows parents to object to any materials depicting sexual conduct.

In an effort to comply with a controversial law instated by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state legislature, the school district in Florida's fourth-most populous county is restricting teachers from teaching the full works of Shakespeare, according to a recent report from the Tampa Bay Times.

The Parental Rights in Education Act, nicknamed the "Don't Say Gay" law, was signed by DeSantis in 2022 and was originally written to, in part, prevent public school teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation with students between kindergarten and third grade. DeSantis and the legislature expanded on the legislation in 2023, broadening its scope to students below kindergarten age and up to those in eighth grade.

In addition to expanding which age groups the law covers, the expansion allows parents to object to any books or classroom materials that "depicts or describes sexual conduct." After an objection is made by a parent, the materials are required to be gone in five days "and remain unavailable to students of that school until the objection is resolved."

As a result, the curricula of schools in Florida's Hillsborough County won't require students to read any works of Shakespeare in their entirety, instead choosing to provide select passages for them to read instead. If the students want to read the writing in its entirety, they'll have to find a copy themselves.

Hillsborough School District Spokeswoman Tanya Arja told the Tampa Bay Times the changes were made "in consideration of the law" — Shakespeare's writings, like many classics, are filled with sexually-charged innuendos and romance.

The Times' report also noted the changes are occurring as the school district adapts to changes in Florida's "Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking" educational standards.

English class curricula isn't the only thing being affected by the expansion of Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act. As a result of the law, the Orange County School District announced on Monday that to follow the law, it will be policy this upcoming school year that transgender students and teachers will be required to use restrooms that correspond to their sex at birth.

It's also now Orange County School District policy that transgender teachers and contractors are barred from asking students to refer to them using honorifics or pronouns that do not correspond to their sex at birth.