According to a new rule passed by Florida’s Board of Governors on Thursday, university faculty and staff may be fired for using restrooms that do n’t match the sex that was assigned to them at birth.
If an employee violates the new rule, they may face punitive action at institutions within Florida’s University System, such as the University of Florida, Florida State University, or University Central Florida where the Board of Governors meeting was held. According to the principle, these processes “must include disciplinary steps up to and including dismissal.”
The law also applies to individuals, though it’s unclear what sanctions they might face if they disobey it.
Just Jack Hitchcock and Amanda Phalin, two board people, voiced opposition to the law’s implementation, despite the fact that many others spoke against it.
According to Phalin, states with non-discrimination policies allowing transgender people to use bathrooms that are appropriate for their gender have never observed a rise in intimate offenses.” There is no empirical evidence that links granting transgend individuals access to related gender bathrooms results in increase,” he continued.
The American Medical Association has concluded that exclusive bathroom policies are harmful to our transgender students, and more than 275 anti-sexual assault and domestic violence organizations across the country have signed a letter pledging the value and security of bathroom non-discrimination policies.
The law, House Bill 1521, which mandates that people use bathroom and changing facilities that match their gender assigned at birth irrespective of their gender identity, is now in effect at Florida universities thanks to this concept. endorsed by Gov. The law was implemented on July 1 after Ron DeSantis in May.
At the end of September, a lawsuit was filed against the state, with defendants claiming that the law is unconstitutional.
The law mandates that the board create procedures to implement the rule not later than January 1, 2024.
By April 1, 2024, all Florida colleges must provide the Board of Governors with proof that they have complied with the new regulation.
Board of Education: Segregate rooms at audiology and other schools by birth-assigned sex.
Florida colleges: According to the fresh Florida law, college staff must use the restroom assigned to them at birth or risk being fired.
” Unattainable for transgender and nonbinary individuals to… function in higher education.”
Phoenix, a 23-year-old University of Central Florida scholar, claimed that the change is forcing them to think about going back into the bedroom. For their protection, FLORIDA is never revealing Phoenix’s last name today.
They stated that” I believe I could be reported as a trans nonbinary person who does not present” correctly” as “male” or “female.” Since I have to wait until I get home before using the restroom, the anti-trans bathroom ( rule ) will have an impact on my physical health. My already deteriorating mental health as a queer person in Florida will be negatively impacted by this ( rule ).
The law will have a negative effect on transgender university people, according to Carlos Guillermo Smith, senior policy advisor at Equality Florida and the first explicitly queer Latino elected to the Legislature.
He compared the Johns Committee, a body created by the Florida Legislature in the 1950s to look into students and faculty suspected of being queer, socialists, or involved in civil rights organizations like the NAACP, saying that this rule would make it nearly impossible for transgender and genderfluid people to continue working in higher education in Florida.
” We’re back in the day when a transgender people will face criminal charges and possibly be fired from their job because they used the room in accordance with their female identity.”
Similar laws to those of the Board of Education, but with more ambiguous language
Although the terminology is more ambiguous, the guideline is similar to Board of Education rules that were passed in July, August, and October and have an impact on school districts, personal K–12 schools, Florida College System institutions, as well as some secret post-secondary institutions. While the Board of Education’s rules explicitly state that student codes of conduct must be updated with disciplinary procedures to be followed if a student does n’t use the restroom or changing area that is in line with the sex that was assigned to them at birth, this language related to discipline is left out, simply stating that the Codes of Conduct must have been updated.
Also, despite drawing its vocabulary from HB 1521, which states that people must use restrooms or changing facilities that match their sex assigned at birth regardless of gender identity, the Board of Governors rule never mentions it at all. A criminal cost may be brought against people 18 and older who use the “wrong” restroom and refuse to leave when asked.
Phoenix claimed that the law makes them feel even more fearful as a trans person using public restrooms.
They expressed their concern that the… ( rule ) would exacerbate Florida’s already pervasive bigotry and discrimination. This ( rule ) will have an impact on how I express my gender identity in clothing and accessories as well as my freedom of expression.
Although it states that it applies to” all school services,” the law does not specifically mention student accommodation as did the Board of Education laws.
The language of this rule, which states that people at Florida state schools may be fired after two acts, is less severe than a Board of Education law that was passed in August.
According to the new law, there must be a “unisex choice” or facilities may have separate areas designated for “exclusive employ by females” and “exclusion by males.”
Senior Phoenix does n’t have much time left in college. However, they continue to be concerned about the consequences of the law for both themselves and others.
They claimed that” My transgender friends are going to lose their physical autonomy and therefore lose public access to bathrooms.” This anti-trans bathroom ( rule ) will not only have an impact on my trans friends ‘ physical health, but also on their mental health and contribute to the depressing but actually higher rate of suicide among trans people.
Today’s training writer at FLORIDA is Finch Walker. Walker can be reached at fwalker@floridatoday .com. X: @finchwalker
