On Wednesday, the Florida Board of Education passed a rule mandating severe disciplinary measures for college employees who violate a new state law regulating lavatory use.
The law, which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into effect in May, forbids transgender people from using restrooms and changing areas that match their gender identities. The law went into effect on July 1.
Florida Board of Education Enforces a Controversial Law
The rule exceeds the state statute by mandating specific disciplinary measures for college employees who violate the statute, requiring colleges to investigate purported violations and report them to the Florida Department of Education, and applying the statute to university student housing.
According to the rule, those who violate the law are subject to "a progressive discipline procedure that includes verbal warnings, written reprimands, suspension without pay, and termination." A second offense results in dismissal.
The board also approved another rule on Wednesday requiring K-12 private schools to ensure their compliance with the law as part of an annual survey and to discipline staff found in violation of Florida professional conduct codes, which could lead to the suspension or revocation of their teaching license.
During the board's meeting on Wednesday in Naples, Florida Board of Education Chair Ben Gibson stated that the new state law required the board to devise such regulations. The majority of those who spoke during the board meeting opposed the new education regulations.
Former state representative Carlos Guillermo Smith, who is now a senior policy adviser for the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida, stated that the rules "substantially exceed the scope" of the bathroom law by including college dormitories, mandating that staff be fired after a second offense, and requiring taxpayer-funded investigations into restroom use in the Florida College System, according to NBC News.
Challenges Faced by Transgender Individuals
What should a transgender individual do if there is no unisex lavatory available?
Smith stated at the board meeting on Wednesday that there is no unisex facility in Collier County Public Schools, the district where the meeting took place. "Their employment will be terminated. They will be expelled from the Florida College System."
Jordan Beutel characterized himself as a fourth-generation educator, but he left the profession due to the state's restrictions on transgender educators. During the meeting, he stated, "As a transgender man, this rule would require me to use a women's restroom or face termination without the ability to advocate for my rights."
This regulation is a direct assault on my diversity in higher education and will lead to witch hunts. Merci Pozo Christie, a member of the board of education and radiologist, stated: "There is a historically and cross-culturally accurate reason why males and females use distinct spaces during intimate moments."
At Wednesday's meeting, Christie stated, "This is not something that, as a culture, we should abandon because of new ideologies that are disputing the science of male and female, which does not change because biology does not change."
The board's rules are part of a larger effort by the DeSantis administration to limit the discussion of LGBTQ topics in schools and restrict the rights of transgender individuals. In May, DeSantis signed a law prohibiting transition-related care for minors and another expanding the state's "Don't Say Homosexual" law, as dubbed by critics.
The second bill expands the Parental Rights in Education Act, which was signed into law by DeSantis in March 2022.
Initially, the measure prohibited "sexual orientation or gender identity classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties" in kindergarten through third grade "or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."
The expanded law prohibits such instruction from preschool to eighth grade. The proposed legislation applies to both public and charter institutions. In January, DeSantis' administration requested the health information of trans students at public universities who have sought or received transition-related medical care.
In 2021, he signed a bill that prohibits trans student athletes from participating on school sports teams that correspond to their gender identities, as per Axios.
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