ORLANDO, Fla. – LGBTQ+ History and Awareness Month will remain on the Orange County Public School Board calendar after the school board voted down a proposal to remove it this week.

The 6-2 decision Tuesday followed an emotional, hours-long meeting where more than a dozen parents, students and educators urged the board to keep the observance, which has been recognized in the district since 2019.

The observance, which takes place throughout October, is one of dozens of monthlong, weeklong, and daylong holidays listed on the OCPS school board calendar for celebrations and observances. The list also includes Hispanic Awareness Month, National Bullying Prevention Month, Florida Family Engagement Month, Black History Month, Autism Awareness Month, and Internal Audit Awareness Month.

None are listed on the regular school district calendar on the website.

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Board member Alicia Farrant, who introduced the proposal, called the proclamation redundant, noting that OCPS also recognizes June as Pride Month and June 12 as Pulse Remembrance Day to honor the victims of the 2016 nightclub shooting.

“Orange County Public Schools are seeing a huge decline in enrollment, and many of the families that I’ve spoken to who are leaving are doing so because the school is continuing to show that their focus is not on all the children and making sure that education is a priority, but instead focusing on smaller community groups and celebrating them,” Farrant said. “I have parents who come out and tell me that this is happening, but they’re afraid to say anything because of the retaliation.”

Other parents and educators spoke in favor of keeping the proclamation, including local advocate Judi Hayes, whose son also addressed the board.

“These are kids who are really disproportionately affected by mental health issues,” Hayes said. “And I feel like anything that we can do to help those kids feel comfortable, feel included, not singled out, is important.”

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Regular public school classes let out at the end of May. Only summer school is in session in June.

OCPS said plans for how schools will mark LGBTQ+ History and Awareness Month will be determined by the individual schools.

A district spokesperson said it can include acknowledgments posted on the web or on school marquees.

This marks the second time in two years that an effort to remove the proclamation has failed.