A school district in Florida suspended a staffer whose son, who identifies as a girl, played on a girls’ volleyball team, violating a state law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
The Broward County School Board voted 5-4 to suspend Jessica Norton for 10 days from her position as an information management technician and as a volunteer coach for the junior varsity volleyball team at Monarch High School located in Coconut Creek, according to CNN.
“Obviously, I don’t want to get fired from my job,” Norton said after the vote. “I love my job. But I don’t think that the decision for any suspension was correct.”
Special School Board Meeting / School Board Workshop - July 30, 2024 https://t.co/ogwXupsuzt
— Broward Schools (@browardschools) July 30, 2024
Norton will switch to a new job after her suspension is finished, rather than be fired, according to the school board.
“Our employee made a choice not to follow the law,” Debbi Hixon, one of the board members said in a statement, according to the New York Post. “It was a first offense. We would not terminate someone on their first offense.”
The school board found that Norton had violated the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which DeSantis signed into law in June 2021.
Under the bill, “an athletic team or sport” that has been “designated for females, women, or girls” may not allow “students of the male sex” to join, based on their biological sex that was listed on their birth certificate:
The bill specifies that an athletic team or sport that is designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex, based on the student’s biological sex listed on the student’s official birth certificate at the time of birth. The bill applies the requirements to interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic teams or sports that are sponsored by a public secondary school, high school, public college, or university institution. The bill provides civil remedies for those who suffer harm by violations of the section of law.
In December, Monarch High School was fined $16,500 by the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) after allowing Norton’s transgender son to play on the girls’ volleyball team.
The fine from the FHSAA came after five employees from Monarch High School were reassigned to off-campus jobs in November as an investigation into the matter was conducted, according to Politico. Among the employees were Norton, assistant principal Kenneth May, and athletic director Dione Hester.
