Street murals are soon to be no more in Florida

TAMPA, Fla. — As part of a new law, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the Florida Department of Transportation is working on the removal of hundreds of street murals across the state.  

DeSantis said the purpose of the law was to bring uniformity and safety to local roadways, with the threat of local governments losing state funds for road projects if they don’t comply.

Critics argue the law was a way for the state to target LGBTQ street murals, including the rainbow mural in St. Petersburg, which was removed.

But parents and students at local schools say the enforcement has also targeted dozens of education street murals near schools.

In Tampa, 47 street murals are in the process of being removed.

The education street mural outside Mabry Elementary School in Tampa was removed last week, and featured dolphins, pencils, notebooks, and apples.

Parents and students from Mabry Elementary are reacting, saying the mural was a way to make areas where kids get dropped off and picked up safer.

“We installed these because we wanted our students and campus to be more safe, and for traffic to be aware of our students entering and exiting campus,” said parent Mackenzie Ombres, a parent of two at Mabry Elementary. “And now, simply, it’s not there. The safety is not there anymore.” 

Ombres’ daughter, a 4th-grader at Mabry, said she’s disappointed the mural is gone after two years of hard work to install it.

So far, no local governments have challenged the state’s removal of the murals, despite groups of citizens recoloring some areas with rainbow chalk.