The Florida Senate voted  to pass House Bill 1069 last week, which critics have called the  “Don’t Say Period” bill. The House voted 77-35 to pass the bill last month, and Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign it into law. The new law will limit sex education and discussion of menstruation before sixth grade.

In 2021, the United States reported more than 2.5 million sexually transmitted infections cases, according to the Center for Disease Control. Junior Sofia Palermo said she expects those numbers to rise if the bill is approved.

“How are you to expect that children understand how to deal with their body and the functions that go along with it?” Parlemo said. “Without sex ed, it makes total sense to me that kids are going to be rebellious and try to learn about their bodies, and they may act on it in a more harmful impulsive way without proper education. They’re going deal with it one way or another, so proper education at least guides kids in the right direction.”

Seventh-grader Sonja K. said she feels unsatisfied with the reproductive education she received.

“At school, we got more of a menstruation talk than we ever got a sex talk,” she said. “We had one at the end of fifth grade and one in sixth grade. We watched a presentation, but neither time we really spoke about sex or protection or anything like that. My teacher assumed that everybody already knew what menstruation was, although multiple girls didn’t, and she explained it very vaguely. There’s a lot higher chance for a lot of people to end up having a teen pregnancy or get an STD because they are not told what to do to protect themselves from this.”

Additionally, Sonja K. said she believes earlier mentions of periods will benefit students.

“I think [the reproductive talks] should have been in third or fourth grade because I know multiple girls who got their periods in those grades,” she said. “Some of them didn’t know what a period was and began freaking out. If you don’t know what’s going on, you could think you’re dying.”

Furthermore, with the menstruation discussion being pushed back to sixth grade — if the school chooses to teach it, freshman Rhea Sinha said she worries about the social and emotional isolation of those who menstruate.

“Most girls get their periods in elementary school,” she said. “If I hadn’t been able to talk about it with other people, I think it would’ve been a lot harder for me to deal with. So a lot of girls are going to start struggling and feel alone if this bill is implemented.”

Palermo said she infers the bill is being considered for multiple reasons.

“Some parents may feel uncomfortable or that certain parents don’t want their children knowing about sex ed or menstruation at a younger age because they may feel like it like it’s taboo so they don’t want to share it,” she said. “However, I also feel like it’s mainly for political gain, and that Florida legislation wants to create a bill that causes distraction and riles people up versus actually solving problems.”

Likewise, Sinha said the bill is a political strategy.

“This honestly just feels like a battle to limit women,” she said. “It has nothing to do with making people uncomfortable. It really just has to do with silencing women and their struggles.”

Freshman Hannah Jones said she doesn’t understand why there is an attempt to restrict sex and menstruation education in the first place.

“Periods and sex are all natural aspects of the human body,” she said. “We talk about how the cardiovascular system works. The reproductive system is just as much a part of the human body as these other systems. So what is it about this system that makes it so taboo? Why are we supposed to stay quiet about it?”

Freshman Francis Lewandowski expressed doubt over the bill being approved.

“I don’t believe they can [go through with House Bill 1069],” he said. “There’s no way they’re going to get it through [the Legislature]. I mean, kids deserve to know what’s happening [with their bodies].”

Even if the bill is ratified, Lewandowski isn’t concerned for this school.

“It probably wouldn’t impact West Shore because it’s a junior/senior high school, but it would impact elementary schools who couldn’t teach sex education,” he said.

On the contrary, Jones said she doesn’t think the bill will only limit grades K-5.

“Looking at what has happened with the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, where it keeps extending [the age that discussions of sexual orientation and gender can be held in schools], I worry that could also happen with this bill,” she said. “If this bill keeps getting extended then when will be have sex education?”

Five people, including three adults who work in reproductive health or sex education, declined to spread their opinions about House Bill 1069. According to Palermo, legislation such as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ and ‘Don’t Say Period’ bills cause teachers, adults and students to censor their speech.

“[These new bills restricting education] don’t help teachers nor adults because now there’s more responsibility on them to handle situations and discussions without violating the law,” she said. “They know that their opinions can be controversial, and especially because of social media, they can be attacked for them. Overall, people start wanting to avoid these conversations with others to avoid their opinions becoming hot topics.”

By Elena Konicki

Editor’s note: Brevard Public Schools policy prohibits the inclusion of middle-schoolers’ last names on district-sponsored websites.