TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill banning the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

The legislation has pushed Florida and DeSantis, an ascendant Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, to the forefront of the nation’s culture wars. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer advocates; students, Democrats, the entertainment industry and the White House dubbed the measure the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

DeSantis and other Republicans have repeatedly said the measure is reasonable and that parents, not teachers, should bring up topics of sexual orientation and gender identity with their children.

“We will ensure that parents can send their children to school to receive education, not indoctrination,” DeSantis said to applause before signing the measure in a ceremony at Classical Preparatory School in Spring Hill. , about 46 miles north of Tampa.

During the ceremony, several young children accompanied DeSantis and other politicians near the podium, some holding signs bearing the governor’s slogan “Protect the Children/Support the Parents.” DeSantis gave the kids the pens he used to sign the bill.

The law states: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties about sexual orientation or gender identity may not take place in kindergarten through 3rd grade or in a manner that does not is not appropriate for the age or development of students in accordance with state standards.”

Parents could sue districts for violation.

As the bill progressed through the legislature, celebrities rallied against it on social media. Florida students staged walkouts and crowded into committee rooms and state halls to protest the measure.

The Walt Disney Company has suspended political donations in the state.

LGBTQ advocates who work for Disney criticized CEO Bob Chapek for what they said was his slowness to speak out against the bill. Some left work in protest.

After DeSantis signed the measure, Disney released a statement saying, “Our goal as a company is to have this law repealed by the legislature or struck down by the courts.”

Throughout the debate in the GOP-controlled state house, Democrats said the law’s language could be interpreted so broadly that discussion at any level could trigger lawsuits and create an atmosphere class where teachers would avoid subjects altogether.

“The bill’s intentionally vague language leaves teachers afraid to speak to their students and opens school districts to costly and frivolous litigation from those who seek to exclude LGBTQ people from any grade level,” said state Rep. Carlos G. Smith, a Democrat who is gay.

The White House, which has sparred with the DeSantis administration over a range of policies, issued statements against the law.

“My administration will continue to fight for the dignity and opportunity of every student and family – in Florida and across the country,” Biden tweeted Monday.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona recently held a call with LGBTQ students in Florida and said in a statement Monday that his agency “will monitor this law as it is implemented to assess whether it violates the law.” Federal Civil Rights Act.

For teachers in Florida, the law has caused confusion about what’s allowed in the classroom as well as concerns about frivolous lawsuits, said Michael Woods, a specialist teacher in Palm Beach County.

“From the start I thought it was a solution in search of a problem, and the saddest thing is that I think it’s going to have a chilling effect on ensuring that young people, students , have a safe learning environment,” he said.