Navigating Challenges in Research on Educational Policies: A Case Study of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act

Abstract

Abstract In July 2022, Florida enacted the Parental Rights in Education Act (PREA), commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibited discussions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) topics in schools under the premise of not being “age-appropriate”. Grounded in minority stress theory, this study investigates the mental health impact of such legislation on Florida-based parents, teachers, and LGBTQ+ students. Participants completed an online survey measuring depression, anxiety, heterosexist discrimination, isolation, and frequency of discrimination. The research team encountered challenges during IRB approval, recruitment, and data collection requiring adaptive strategies. Some of these challenges included mandatory parental consent for minors and a high volume of fraudulent surveys. Due to extensive fraudulent responses, manual validation procedures were required. This manuscript compares analyses of both the total ( n = 459) and validated ( n = 124) datasets. Validated responses revealed increased symptoms of anxiety and depression, along with heightened reports of discrimination and isolation following PREA’s passage. In contrast, the total sample misleadingly indicated improved mental health and reduced discrimination, underscoring the impact of fraudulent data on research outcomes. These findings highlight the detrimental effects of discriminatory legislation on mental health and emphasize the importance of robust validation strategies in future LGBTQ+ research.