The Broward County School Board in Florida has finally settled on punishment for parent, teacher, and coach Jessica Norton after she let her transgender daughter play on the school’s girls’ volleyball team and allegedly violated Florida’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.
School Board Deliberation
The Broward County School Board, based in a surprisingly politically liberal area in Florida known for its significant LGBTQ+ community, has come to a difficult decision with the parent of a transgender child who teaches in their district.
Jessica Norton has worked as a computer information specialist at Monarch High School in Broward County, Florida, for seven years and also served as the junior varsity volleyball coach. Norton’s controversy began after she allowed her transgender daughter to participate in the school’s girls’ volleyball team and brought on allegations that she violated Florida’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.
The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act is a Florida state law enacted in 2021 that requires all students participating in female-designated sports teams to be biologically female on their birth certificates.
Unsurprisingly, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act was supported by conservative lawmakers, like Governor Ron DeSantis, who felt the law was necessary to protect the integrity of women’s sports.
Since the case against Norton picked up national attention, the board has publicly acknowledged the complexity of the case and been forced to consider a range of disciplinary actions.
Crossing the Line
During the school board discussion, one board member, Debi Nixon, highlighted the complexity of the case as she could empathize with Norton’s plight but felt this crossed a line.
“I appreciate a mom fighting for the rights of her child, I really appreciate that, but this crossed a lot of different lines,” said Hixon.
After a lengthy debate and investigation, the school board voted 5-4 to suspend Jessica for 10 days rather than terminate her employment, despite the superintendent’s recommendation for her dismissal.
In response to the decision at the board meeting, Norton said, “Obviously, I don’t want to get fired from my job, I love my job, but I don’t think the decision for any suspension was correct.”
Repercussions
However, the board remained unphased by Norton’s perspective and highlighted the fact that there are repercussions for breaking the law whether or not you agree with it.
During the meeting, school board member Debbie Hixon said, “She knew what the law was, she made a decision not to follow the law, and that needs to have consequence to it.”
However, the suspension and case have not sat well with the students at the school, with hundreds of students staging walkouts in support of Norton’s daughter.
Unfortunately, Norton’s daughter has since left the school due to the backlash, and the Florida High School Athletic Association has barred her from participating in any school sports for a year.
When discussing the impact this case has brought onto herself, her family, and her daughter, Norton highlighted the massive amounts of threats they have received.
“Nobody can understand what we’ve been through. We’ve been through death threats, harassing phone calls, letters sent to our house, and this was all because something that they did, it wasn’t something that I did,” Norton said.
Board member Debbie Hixon, who proposed the suspension, acknowledged that Norton’s actions put the district in a legally difficult position but argued that firing her was too harsh for a teacher who regularly received stellar evaluations.
Misgendering Incident
However, not every board member was as supportive. During the board meeting, member Brenda Fam repeatedly misgendered Norton’s daughter, leading to a heated exchange.
Fam later defended her actions and claimed she was simply quoting a newspaper article, but Norton accused her of intentionally misgendering her daughter to provoke her.
When addressing the Fam’s alleged attempt at provocation, Norton simply said, “It worked. I don’t think that a school board member should be misgendering children, and “I did nothing wrong. Nothing.”
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