Slovak education chief refuses to implement anti-LGBTQ+ measures in schools

Slovak Education Minister Tomáš Drucker is refusing to implement anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that the far-right Slovak National Party (SNS) plans to propose next month.
SNS, which is in Slovakia’s ruling coalition along with Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer party and the social-democratic Hlas (Voice) party, announced two weeks ago that it will in September propose an “anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda law” in schools. The aim of the bill is “to create conditions to ensure that education remains neutral and focused on traditional values,” it said.
Drucker, with the Hlas party, said Wednesday that he “absolutely” refuses to apply the proposal in the school system. The governing coalition’s agreement among its three parties has divided up the ministries, with Hlas getting autonomy over education.
“The educational content will be decided exclusively by experts and teachers during my tenure as a minister of education,” Drucker said at a press conference Wednesday where he introduced a package of 89 school reforms. “I absolutely reject any politicization of education and impetuous interventions in education.”
What now seems to be a small disagreement could develop into a larger rift in the government coalition as multiple MPs from Smer and SNS are in favor of curtailing rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Slovak Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová last month blamed sexual minorities for Europe’s low fertility rate, while the prime minister has called the fight against “gender ideologies” one of his government’s priorities.
Drucker’s statements come during a turbulent time in Slovakia, with thousands of people protesting and calling on Šimkovičová to resign over her decisions threatening media freedom and the independence of cultural institutions.
Bulgaria earlier this month adopted a similar anti-LGBTQ+ law, which has sparked demonstrations across the country and drawn condemnation from human rights groups.