The Leon County School Board finalized and approved the LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Guide during the LCSB meeting on Tuesday, June 28, 2022.
After months of laboring over the guide and reviewing Florida law and the Parents Bill of Rights, the LGBTQIA+ 14-member committee completed the document and presented it to the Board for review and a vote.
After hours of discussion by the Board during the agenda review meeting on July 27 and then again during the regular session, and after hearing more than 40 concerned students, parents, and teachers, the Board unanimously passed the guide.
The document is intended to aid teachers and faculty in treating all students fairly. In addition, this is to ensure that teachers have direction when helping students and parents with concerns regarding gender or sexuality.
“We are not writing a guide to help children transition,” Superintendent Rocky Hanna said during the meeting. Instead, the guide is there to help faculty members navigate sensitive matters and support students.
“We are trying to help our teachers and our administrators know what to do with students who need our help. We are trying to give them guidance that is uniform across every school,” Board member Rosanne Wood said. “We have tried to incorporate students’ and parents’ rights in this guide.”
The primary changes the Board made before voting were regarding restroom and locker room usage and when parents should be notified if and when a transgender student may require/request accommodations.
Wood’s primary concern was the possibility of outing a student who was not ready to discuss their identity with classmates or parents. However, she feels the amendments allow students to control what information is shared while ensuring parents are a part of any action the district takes. For instance, if a child wants to change their name in school, they must have permission from their parent.
Ultimately, the changes to the Inclusive guide were to provide any student who requests special private accommodations for locker room or restroom use according to their gender identity must have a plan completed with their parents’ participation.
However, if a student is open about their gender identity and wishes to use the corresponding locker room, the parents of all students using the locker rooms will be notified and given reasonable accommodations for their students. To protect the transgender student’s privacy, notifications to parents will be general and not solely issued to one particular class.
Lastly, a change was made by the Board for overnight field trips, requiring parents to sign a form requesting their child have special accommodations.
The Leon County School Board Approves LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Guide added by Lynsey Kirk on
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Tallahassee is in a sad state of affairs. What would JESUS say about what is going on in our schools. We are living in a truly demented world and GOD will punish us. Be very scared by what you accept as normal behavior when it is the opposite of GODS words. You will be accountable for what you do.
Schools are to teach children, not indoctrinate. Remember that when election time comes around and vote every school board member out. Parents of school age children take charge.
Pretty sure I have NEVER heard of a trans or gay/lesbian student bullying/threatening other’s well being. How about parental notication of the ones doing the harm rather than the harmless? Seems much more constructive to me. By shining a flood light on vulnerable kids, you’re going to get a percentage of the killed by others or their own hand. Shame on you LCSB. I thought so much better of you.
Not sure what people in these comments are so up in arms about . They put together guidelines for teachers and parents on how they will handle lgbt+ issues . Not a big deal. We are all different and should be able to respect everyone else .
This garbage has no place in any school. The parent must be the ultimate decider on everything about their child not the school. Every school should be required to report any contact with counselors their child has and no school official should be discussing their alleged “sexuality” with any student.
The school does not own the students the parents do, school personnel must be reminded of that. Nobody should be talking to a child about sex changes or sexual preferences, the real problem here is bulling which the schools famously fail to address.
@ DavidB,
You don’t like me? That’s a shame. I’ll pencil in some time to cry about it later. Right now, I’m busy enjoying my life.
Feeble replies, Hope. Is that your default when you can’t conjure a learned opinion?
VOTE EVERYONE OF THEM OUT OF OFFICE. THEY HAVE AS THEY SAY OUTLIVER THEIR EXPIRATION DAT. USELESS ET ALL
@ Hope
It appears that Barb and Concerned Citizen are not from the South. They don’t quite get your “compliment.”
The entire existence of the corrupt political system is predicated on keep We The People busy fighting with and staring at each other.
Stop letting them win, and keep yours eyes on the real corruption… them.
CC…
I didn’t use the term “sophomoric” or nor did I call anyone sophomoric, Barb did.
The incumbent candidates who voted for the $27 million Doak Stadium giveaway, facing sexual harassment allegations, and receiving bundled contributions are getting no pass from these forum moderators.
CC..
Bless your heart…
No one used the word ‘hate’, Hope. I used the term biased.
I wouldn’t mind if you didn’t jump straight to the word HATE (great tactic, btw) or calling people sophomoric when I don’t buy what you’re selling.
MADNESS AND DELUSIONAL
Has anyone else seen the Gay Men’s Choir “We’re Coming For Your Children” Viral Video? Everyone should view the video and take it seriously.
@Hope, thank you, and God Bless.
Barb,
Bless your heart..
Hope,
You’ve been listening to your progressive friends too much and have picked up their offensive and sophomoric habit of accusing people who disagree with you of “hating”.
The devil is the author of confusion. Vote better next time people. Education now comes behind sexuality. Kids can’t read but that’s not important anymore.
Did the school board speak with anyone, like an endocrinologist, who has experience working with people going through gender transition? Was there parental input? It is dangerous, both for the children thinking they need to transition to fit in, and for the children who are subject to tolerating changing their clothes in front of someone of the opposite gender. We are damaging our children in so many ways today. Very sad.
Barb & CC,
Please don’t show a bias until you actually listen and watch one for yourselves.
Of course they are liberal entities, but these forums are very good, fair, balanced, informative, and professional candidate forums. I commend them all for being fair and balanced.
You want to see an unfair venue? Attend a NEBA forum.
You have a choice to be informed or a choice to hate and I make the choice to be informed.
Sad Times at Ridgemont ELEMENTARY.
Well, I will just wait until it’s time to vote again to see how much more informed Tallahassee
has become. Until then I humbly apologize for making assumptions like the Tallahassee Democrat being a bastion of Progressive ideologues.
The WFSU, Tallahassee Democrat, and League of Women Voters candidate forums will all be covered through the progressive lens because they are all progressive organizations. People need to get information through the conservative lens as well and then use their brains.
More importantly, voters need to do some internet research on the candidates, for instance:
1. Who is endorsing them?
2. Who are they endorsing?
3. What public statements did they make on Facebook, Twitter, news & magazine interviews, etc., regarding issues that matter to you?
All of these things are much more enlightening and relevant than fake “meet the candidate” infomercials (regardless of who is sponsoring the infomercial).
@ Concerned Citizen : Those 3 Parties put on good Candidate Forums. LWV does theirs at City Hall, WFSU does theirs at their TV Station and the Democrat does as well. Citizens get to ask the Candidates questions as well. Go here for the latest Forums so far…..
https://wfsu.org/television/2022-election-forums
CC,
I don’t believe these forums are biased, they are informative and fair. I believe it is unfair to make that judgment without viewing one.
Hope,
I am not being insulting but I think there’s no way to get educated through the Democrat or WFSU or League of Women Voters.
I am of the opinion that Tallahassee is sliding into a city of Progressive lunacy being cheered on
by the Democrat and the college in the middle of town.
I believe voters are waking up and realizing it’s time to vote for the most qualified and not someone linked to special interests, bundled contributions, and the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce.
Voters need to educate themselves and there is a wonderful opportunity to do so through the WFSU, Tallahassee Democrat, and League of Women Voters candidate forums that will be covering all of the candidates races that is only a click away.
It is possible to even submit a question to be asked to the candidates.
Hopefully Tallahassee Reports will provide each of the candidates an opportunity and publishing each candidate’s views.
There is no excuse for a voter to make a bad decision.
SO, how do we get a copy of this “Inclusive Guide”? Is there a Link to it? WILL there be a link to it?
We are dangerously close to 50% of LCS students reading below grade level, but gender issues remain our focus. We have lost our way and there’s not a leader in sight to correct course. The LGBTQ community has partnered with the privileged elite on the northside and has portrayed themselves as an oppressed minority to gain southside support. Meanwhile, thousands of minority and middle class students sit ignored. It’s despicable.
We are headed to a full blown idiotocracy in our community
with a system that rewards being an idiot.
Sounds like the school personnel and school board have set themselves up as the arbiters between the parents and their children. Anyone who can homeschool should homeschool and get these interlopers out of your lives.
WOW, JUST WOW! What is happening in the schools is insane! So much talk of sexuality, wanting to change your name or identity in school, boys that want to be girls, girls that want to be boys, confusion about which bathroom or locker room to use..
What happened to just going to school to learn math, English, science,etc..?
Worry about personal things such as what or who you identify as on your own time. Go to the bathroom of your birth gender. I can just imagine..a tampon box in the boys bathroom..WOW..