High school students in South Florida took to the streets in protest after several staff members at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek were reassigned due to a trans student’s participation in girls’ sports, in defiance of Florida state law.
Under a recent law championed by Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, transgender student-athletes are prohibited from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. An ongoing investigation is examining whether a transgender student was allowed to compete on the girls’ volleyball team at Monarch High School.
In response to the investigation, Principal James Cecil and four other staff members were reassigned by the school district, leading to the student walk-out and demonstration.
During the protest, students chanted slogans such as “Trans lives matter” and “Bring back Cecil,” and they held signs reading “Trans rights are human rights” and “Let her play,” showing their support for the transgender student-athlete.
The walk-out occurred a day after the school district reassigned Principal Cecil, along with assistant principal Kenneth May, athletic director Dione Hester, information management technician Jessica Norton, and temporary athletic coach Alex Burgess, to non-school sites.
Broward Schools Superintendent Peter Licata stated during a news conference that the investigation was initiated after a community member provided a tip regarding the student-athlete. Licata denied any connection between the staff reassignments and a previous lawsuit brought by the student-athlete and her parents against Monarch High School earlier in the month.
A federal judge had ruled against the student-athlete and her family in their attempt to challenge DeSantis’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, a transphobic law that prevents transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
According to Licata, the staff reassignments were not disciplinary but were done to ensure an impartial inquiry. The school district, the sixth-largest in the US, emphasized that the decision to reassign staff members was not influenced by the student’s lawsuit.
John Sullivan, a spokesperson for the school district, reiterated that the investigation stemmed solely from an allegation of non-compliance with state law. He affirmed the district’s commitment to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students.
Florida is one of several states that have passed laws banning trans student-athletes from participating on sports teams that align with their gender identity. These laws have faced opposition from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and lawmakers, with studies showing that trans inclusion in school sports is essential and that trans women do not have advantages over cisgender women in sports.
Despite these findings, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation continues to emerge in various states, with over 520 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state legislatures in the year leading up to May, over 220 of which target trans and non-binary individuals, according to the Human Rights Campaign.