Palm Beach County schools again revise LGBTQ+ guide amid state official's criticism

The Palm Beach County School District has again revised a guide designed to support LGBTQ+ students after a state education leader questioned its legality.

A new version of the district's LGBTQ+ Critical Support Guide was online Friday morning with a change to the section on field trips.

The original text, including a line that said transgender students "should be allowed to room with peers that match their gender identity," was buried under a large box that read "UNDER REVIEW," in capital letters.

The change followed a State Board of Education meeting Wednesday at Pensacola State College to discuss, among other things, a new rule on school field trips.

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Under the rule approved Wednesday, field trip permission slips will include the "nature of the field trip," the date and time, the location, the mode of transportation, the method of supervision and "whether room assignments for overnight lodging are not separated by biological sex at birth."

Though the agenda item focused solely on field trips, board member Ryan Petty raised questions about general LGBTQ+ policies in schools, at one point holding up support guides from Hillsborough and Palm Beach counties.

Petty questioned why the Palm Beach County guide — a document meant to help LGBTQ+ students feel safe in school — didn't include more support for students with disabilities and children who struggled with reading. He noted that most of the guide "has to do with transgender and nonbinary students and how to deal with them."

He also questioned whether the guides aligned with state law, likely referring to new legislation such as HB 1557, titled "Parental Rights in Education," and dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law by critics.

The law bans instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in grades K-3, or any lessons not "age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate" in older grades — terms not yet defined by the state Education Department.

"I can’t help but think we’ve lost our focus," he said later in the meeting. "And if it weren’t for a few activists in these districts that are putting these guides forward, we could be spending our time and the department’s time focused on things that we should be focused on, like getting teachers into the classroom.”

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The Palm Beach County School District created its guide with help from Compass Community Center, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council and advisers from the gay-straight alliances at secondary schools, along with district offices focused on school safety and gender studies.

Their work, along with LGBTQ+ support guides in districts throughout Florida, now face scrutiny from the Education Department.

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During the meeting Wednesday, Petty asked the state's new education commissioner, Manny Diaz Jr., to "collect any LGBTQ support guides given to students, teachers and staff … for each district," so the state can carry out a legal review.

Diaz quickly agreed, promising to start the review immediately after his return to Tallahassee.

“I’m glad that board member Petty requested that information because I’ll also be very interested in the results," said Grazie Pozo Christie, a fellow board member.

Palm Beach County guide has been reviewed at least twice since July 1

Wednesday’s development was the latest in a series of recent events that fueled confusion among teachers who worry about getting sued for their classroom discussions, along with students who fear being “outed” to their unsupportive families, and parents who worry about losing protections for their LGBTQ+ children.

The district briefly took its guide offline last month for a legal review as the parental rights bill went into effect July 1.

A Palm Beach County teacher and a high school senior — who both identify as transgender — recently told The Palm Beach Post that the guide brought them comfort, and they were happy to see it largely intact when it reappeared online before the start of classes.

But the development Wednesday could signal more changes to come.

“I do think there are great things happening in Florida, and I wish we didn’t have to spend time dealing with these kinds of issues,” Petty said during the state meeting, after noting his “grave concerns” with the LGBTQ+ support guides and their legality.

As of Thursday night, district leaders had yet to receive guidance or clarification on how the state education board meeting might influence their LGBTQ+ guide.

The district, they said, will "continue to revise this guide in order to ensure compliance with state statutes."

Parents stand up in support of LGBTQ+ guide

Although Palm Beach County school officials didn't comment on the guide's criticism openly at a Wednesday school board meeting, several parents and LGBTQ+ advocates spoke up to support its role in the classroom.

"I refuse to bury a child because the weight of these rejections became too heavy a burden to bear," Lacy Larson said, as she recounted the harassment and bullying her child, who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, has endured at school. "The release of an updated critical support guide is a major accomplishment, and a major step."

Julia Sanderson, a parent of a student who also is part of the LGBTQ+ community, said her daughter's school experience has been markedly better than she expected because staff are well-trained.

"She's benefited so tremendously from the support of staff and administration at her school over the past few years since she came out," she said. "We understand that we've been very, very lucky in this respect."

Sanderson emphasized that the critical support guide's accessibility is a matter of life or death.

"If not for their support, as well as support of her family, I wouldn't be standing here because I would have buried my child," she said.

Giuseppe Sabella and Katherine Kokal are education reporters at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach them at gsabella@pbpost.com and kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County schools revise LGBTQ guide amid official's criticism