A major Florida school district, in order to comply with state law, has issued guidance that will bar transgender employees from sharing their preferred pronouns and force trans students and staff to use group restrooms that follow their “biological sex at birth.”
Orange County Public Schools — the fourth-largest district in Florida with about 209,000 students at 210 schools — released the new guidance on Monday for the 2023-24 academic year.
The memo was issued by the district’s deputy general counsel to follow two recently passed Florida laws: House Bill 1069, which provides restrictions on teaching about sex and human sexuality, and House Bill 1521, which provides requirements for use of restrooms by gender. Both bills were signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May and took effect July 1.