A school district in Florida is set to require students to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and dressing rooms that correspond with their biological sex.
The school district, which encompasses the state capital of Tallahassee, updated its "Inclusive School Guide for LCS Employees" on Friday in response to a 7-4 ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Dec. 30. The court said a policy by Florida's St. John County School Board of requiring students to use bathrooms according to their biological sex, or a sex-neutral bathroom, was not a violation of the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause or Title IX federal regulations.
Superintendent Rocky Hanna on Friday approved a new designation called ap5865 that reads "all students shall use bathrooms, locker rooms, and dressing rooms corresponding with their biological sex at birth, or use a single occupancy bathroom." The board is expected to vote on the designation during a scheduled meeting Tuesday.
The inclusive guide for employees added the change was made because of the 11th Circuit Court's ruling. It said school district personnel "will maintain and monitor bathrooms, locker rooms, and dressing rooms to ensure the safety of all students."
The guide also was updated to reflect a change in a student's "sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression orientation" must be shared with their parents. It says "school personnel must not intentionally withhold information from parents unless a reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect."
The school district was sued over allegations it spoke to a teen about gender identity without the parents' permission ― a requirement under Florida's parental rights in education law. The lawsuit was dismissed on Dec. 22 by U.S. District Judge Mark Walker of the Northern District of Florida, but is now set to be heard by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
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