Last week, the Florida Board of Education approved a new policy banning classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity for all grades. The new rule is an extension of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R-FL) Parental Rights in Education Act, legislation passed in March of last year (dubbed by opponents as the "Don’t Say Gay" law) that forbids discussion of such topics from kindergarten until the third grade.

Beginning a month from now, for grades 4-12, lessons on gender identity or sexual orientation will only be permitted if they are in line with the state curriculum or part of reproductive health classes that are optional for students. Florida is also in the process of enacting a bill that will protect students and faculty from being forced to use "preferred pronouns." Additional legislation coming down the pipeline will enable the Department of Education to teach that biological sex is an immutable trait and either male or female, and will prohibit educators from asking students about their pronouns.

These decisions are a necessary step in safeguarding children, eradicating gender ideology from the educational system, and regaining control of our institutions. A new paper published in the academic journal, Current Sexual Health Reports, speaks to the potential harms associated with supporting new gender identities in children.

The debate on early transitioning is steeped in false premises, including the belief that regardless of when a new gender identity appears — whether it’s in young children or middle-aged adults — it is valid and will be long-lasting, and that interventions addressing co-occurring mental health issues are ineffective and possibly harmful.

There is an assumption that poor mental health is the result of gender dysphoria, as opposed to the other way around. In actuality, high rates of co-morbidity abound in individuals with gender dysphoria, with 70% or more of such youth presenting with an additional diagnosis (including autism, depression, anxiety, or an attention deficit disorder) prior to experiencing issues with their gender.

From what I’ve witnessed in the years I’ve been fighting this cultural battle, even when presented with evidence to the contrary, trans activists and their allies happily disregard this information in favor of plowing forward with their preferred narratives. But rates of detransition and regret aren’t rare, and black-and-white solutions fail to capture the sum of who we are as humans.

These ideas neglect the complexity and nuance necessary to understand the challenges of adulthood that young people are facing.