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Students at Florida high school walk out after staff shakeup over transgender athlete

‘Social media is not the court. It’s not the jury,’ superintendent says Tuesday

Monarch High School in Broward County. (WPLG)

Students at a Broward County high school walked out of the classroom Tuesday, one day after the district announced it was reassigning the school’s principal and several other staff members amid a probe into a transgender athlete, according to News 6 partner WPLG.

District leaders announced the move Monday to reassign Monarch High School Principal James Cecil and the other staffers, which includes the school’s athletics director, as it investigated “allegations of improper student participation in sports.”

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Sources with knowledge of the situation tell Local 10 News that those allegations surround a transgender student who plays girls’ volleyball at the school, located at 5050 Wiles Road in Coconut Creek.

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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.

Superintendent Peter Licata, who leads the Broward school district, said the removal is not an indication that Cecil or any of the staff members are being disciplined.

“I can’t speak much to the investigation,” he said Tuesday. “I do want to make sure that you understand that it’ll be a fair investigation. The state has been informed. We also have to understand that social media is not the court. It’s not the jury.”

He added, “It’s an indication that we want to make sure that when we investigate it properly and appropriately again, we want to make sure we do this right. Nobody’s guilty of anything at this point. That’s what an investigation is for.”

Licata wasn’t able to say whether the student will be able to continue to play volleyball next year, saying the district will need to look at its procedures.


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