A school principal, a coach, and others have been removed from a Florida high school and reassigned to non-school duties after allegedly allowing a boy who claims to be a transgender girl to play on the school’s girls’ volleyball team in contravention of a state law aimed at protecting girls sports.
Those removed from the school include principal James Cecil, assistant principal Kenneth May, athletic director Dione Hester, and volleyball coach Jessica Norton, according to the New York Post.
In addition, temporary athletic coach Alex Burgess was released from his contract.
State officials were notified that a boy who is reportedly “transitioning” was allowed to play on the girls’ volleyball team at Monarch High in Coconut Creek, which borders Pompano Beach and is just south of Boca Raton, Florida.
The Florida legislature passed SB 1028, and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law in 2021. The “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” bars biological males from playing as girls in state-sponsored sports programs.
Republican gubernatorial candidate for Florida Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey DeSantis speak to supporters during an election night watch party at the Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on November 8, 2022. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)
“The principal of Monarch High School and several staff members have been reassigned to non-school sites pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of improper student participation in sports,” said Broward County School District spokesman John Sullivan, according to WSVN-TV.
“Although we cannot comment further, we will continue to follow state law and take appropriate action based on the outcome of the investigation,” Sullivan concluded.
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Broward County School District board member Torey Alston added that, in the end, the school would abide by state education laws.
“The investigation will follow the facts, and if it is revealed that state law is in question, I could tell you, we will follow state law,” Alston exclaimed.
Critics of the Broward school board’s move to reassign the school officials say that the boy playing on the girls’ team had not publicly announced his supposed transition, and they accuse the board of “outing” the boy.
Lisa Maxwell, executive director of the Broward Principals and Assistants Association, told the media that the reassigned officials will be cleared of wrongdoing and returned to their positions at Monarch High School.
Some students voiced support for the transgender student. And several threatened a walkout in support of their principal and the transgender student.
But not every student agreed. “If he is a biological boy, I don’t think he should be able to play on a girls’ team,” a student told WTVJ-TV Miami.
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