The School Board in Florida is Not Likely to Fire the Mother Whose Transgender Daughter Played on the Girls’ Volleyball Team
PLANTATION, Fla. — On Tuesday, it didn’t look like the Florida school board would fire an employee whose transgender daughter played volleyball with girls in high school, which is against the law, but they put off deciding until next week.
Broward County is one of the most liberal in the state. There are twice as many Democrats as Republicans, and there is a big LGBTQ+ group there. Recent years have seen a lot more attention paid to transgender children. This is because conservative leaders in Florida and across the country want to make trans rights a big problem.
Superintendent Howard Hepburn wants Jessica Norton fired as a computer information specialist at Monarch High School, where her daughter played on the varsity team last year. Most of the nine members of the Broward County school board seemed ready to say no to this.
But a lot of people also said Norton shouldn’t get away with breaking the state’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which was passed in 2021 by Gov. Ron DeSantis and a Republican-led Legislature. The law, which the Broward board fought against, says that transgender kids can’t play sports for girls or women.
A group for the district said Norton should be suspended for 10 days, but Hepburn, who was hired in April, says she should be fired. He said on Tuesday that he thinks that’s the right punishment for breaking the law.
During the 90-minute meeting, many board members said that seemed unfair. One person offered a 10-day suspension, and another said it should be five days. The school was fined $16,500 by the state athletic commission for breaking the law. After the investigation became public in November, the principal and three other administrators were briefly taken out of the school.
A member, Debbi Hixon, said, “I respect a mom who fights for her child’s rights, but this crossed a lot of different lines.” It touched a lot of other kids and adults and she looked out for her daughter.
With almost 255,000 students in 327 schools, the district is the fifth biggest in the country.
Broward’s board finally agreed with member Torey Alston that the superintendent’s staff should make a list of every employee who broke the law in the last five years, along with what happened and how they were punished. This was done even though Norton’s case was unique. The board could make a decision next week after looking at similar violations.
Norton has worked for the district for seven years and has been on paid leave since November. “It was nice to hear that some people understand it’s not a black-and-white thing,” she said about the vote.
Before she quit Monarch in November, her 16-year-old daughter was class president and homecoming queen. This was when the district started its probe and the public’s attention grew. She now goes to school online. The girl, who is short and thin, sat on the bench a lot last season as the Knights went 13-7.
“She’s getting more like herself again,” Norton said. Still, “she knows that next month all of her friends will start school and she won’t be there.”
As part of his failed run for the Republican presidential nomination, DeSantis said he was against transgender rights. Florida is one of at least 24 states that have a law that keeps transgender women and girls off of some sports teams. At least 25 states have laws that don’t allow gender-affirming care for children.
The Norton family is suing in federal court to stop Florida’s law because they say it violates their daughter’s civil rights. Norton’s child has been taking estrogen and puberty blockers since they were 11 years old, but they have not had surgery to change their gender. Procedures like this are rarely done on kids.
Investigators talked to three Monarch volleyball players. They said that the team didn’t change clothes or take showers together, so Norton’s daughter was never naked with them. All three said they knew or thought Norton’s daughter was transgender, but the fact that she was on the team didn’t worry them.