One of Florida’s biggest school districts issued guidance this week—days before the start of the school year—requiring transgender students and staff to use the restrooms that align with their “biological sex at birth” and barring students and employees from sharing their preferred pronouns, in response to controversial laws supported by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Students arrive with their parents on the first day of classes for the 2021-22 school year at ... [+]
Orange County Public Schools—the fourth-largest district in Florida, home to 210 schools and 207,000 students in the Orlando area—released new guidance Monday about how to be in compliance with two state bills dealing with transgender student and staff rights that DeSantis signed earlier this year and took effect over the summer.
The district advised staff they cannot “provide a personal title or pronoun to students which does not correspond” to their biological sex at birth, and employees cannot ask a student to provide their preferred pronouns.
The second law prevents students or staff from using non-single stall bathrooms or locker rooms that don’t align with their biological sex at birth; however, the law also requires single stall bathrooms and locker rooms be provided for usage by transgender students and employees.
The new laws taking effect in Florida schools carry significant penalties. According to OCPS’s guidance, “a violation of the pronoun rule can lead to sanctions on an educator’s certificate up to and including revocation of the certificate.” If schools aren’t in compliance with the bathroom and locker rooms law, Florida’s attorney general can file a civil lawsuit and fine the district up to $10,000.
In the school district’s guidance, the superintendent and deputy superintendent said there have been questions around whether a parent can ask an employee to use a different pronoun than that assigned at birth, but the State Board of Education hasn’t given districts guidance on what to do in that situation. While awaiting instruction from the state, district officials recommended teachers avoid using pronouns by referring to students by their last names or the first names given on class rosters.
DeSantis has made the fight against “wokeness” and LGTBQ+ issues one of his biggest battles during his time as governor—and a major tenant of his presidential campaign. DeSantis signed at least five anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed in the last legislative session, including one targeting drag shows and one that expanded the so-called Don’t Say Gay law to all grades, meaning students from kindergarten through 12th grade cannot be taught about gender identity or sexual orientation in Florida schools. DeSantis also attempted to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth in the state, signing a bill prohibiting physicians from giving “sex-reassignment prescriptions” or medication like puberty blockers, but a judge ruled against the ban, arguing “gender identity is real.” DeSantis isn’t alone in his push to limit what LGBTQ+ people can do: the American Civil Liberties Union reported 492 anti-LGBTQ laws were introduced in the recent legislative session across the country.
Florida schools are still trying to figure out all the ways DeSantis’ recent legislation will impact their operations, even as the school year is set to begin in days. Last week, the state education board released contradicting guidance on whether Advanced Placement psychology can be taught in Florida high schools, initially saying it must exclude topics of gender identity and sexual orientation to be in compliance with Florida's expanded “Don’t Say Gay” law. Then, after the College Board advised schools to not teach the course if they have to omit content, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said the state believes the course can be taught in its entirety and isn’t advising schools not to teach it.