COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – State athletics officials have fined a Broward County high school for allowing a transgender athlete to play on its girls volleyball team, contravening Florida law and athletics policies.
Officials announced the probe into Monarch High School in late November. The school is located at 5050 Wiles Road in Coconut Creek.
In addition to Principal James Cecil, the district announced it reassigned three other employees: Kenneth May, an assistant principal; Dione Hester, the school’s athletic director and Jessica Norton, an information management technician and mother of the student-athlete in question.
It also “paused” the services of Alex Burgess, a “temporary athletic coach.”
According to a letter the Florida High School Athletic Association sent to Monarch High School on Tuesday and obtained by Local 10 News later that day, the school violated a bylaw that states “biological males may not participate on a female team in any sport” and a state statute stating “athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex.”
In 2021, the Florida State Legislature passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which specifies athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls may not be open to students of the male sex. Gov. Ron DeSantis later signed the bill into law.
The FHSAA ordered Monarch High School face a reprimand, pay a $16,500 fine, face probation through Nov. 20, 2024 and require staff to attend compliance seminars and workshops.
Read the letter:
It also declares the student-athlete in question “ineligible to represent any member school for a period of one year from the date of discovery.”
The school may appeal the decision, the letter states.
“The District is in receipt of the letter from the Florida High School Athletic Association regarding the recent incident at Monarch High School,” a Broward County Public Schools spokesperson told Local 10 News in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “The District’s investigation into the matter remains ongoing at this time.”
Group rallies support for LGBTQ students
Following the FHSAA’s decision to issue a fine to Monarch High School, the group Equality Florida held a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Supporters held signs saying “Every student protected, every family respected,” and condemned the decision.
“So now we are punishing student athletes and wasting money on fines that could be used to support our schools and our students,” Jennifer Solomon, the group’s parents and families support manager, said.
5:30 p.m. report: LGBTQ group holds news conference after fine issued
The group held the media availability outside of the school district’s administration building in Fort Lauderdale.
A transgender Miami-Dade student said he felt like his community was “under attack.”
“It is heartbreaking, really as a trans student myself, I am in Dade and I am here because we feel the pulse and the pain of her (the athlete) all the way from where I am,” Andre Cardona, a junior at New World School for the Arts, said. “You cannot and will not get rid of us.”
Staff shakeup, news of investigation brought fallout
The decision to reassign the principal and the news that the district’s investigation involved a transgender student-athlete led to two student walkouts at the Monarch High School campus in support of the principal and the athlete.
Broward Superintendent Peter Licata promised a “fair investigation” following the reassignments.
Additionally, LGBTQ advocacy organizations expressed concern over the girl being “outed” at school.
Norton issued a statement through the Human Rights Campaign LGBTQ advocacy group in early December.
“The outpouring of love and support from our community this past week has been inspiring, selfless and brave. Watching our community’s resistance and display of love has been so joyous for our family — the light leading us through this darkness. I want everyone to know that we see you, and we are so grateful for you,” Norton said. “A lot of things were taken from my family this week — our privacy, sense of safety, and right to self-determination.”
Family filed lawsuit
In a federal lawsuit filed against the state in June 2021, court documents reveal that the student-athlete “identified as a girl and even in pre-school she presented as female” and was “diagnosed with gender dysphoria at age seven.”
“At age 11, at the recommendation of her endocrinologist, she began hormone blockers to stop testosterone,” the lawsuit states.
It says she’s “receiving estrogen and as she continues through puberty, will develop as a girl.”
The lawsuit also said the girl has a lifelong love of sports.
A federal judge sided with the state in the family’s lawsuit, but gave them the ability to refile it.