Florida Board of Education passes rules for bathrooms at Florida colleges and private schools.
NAPLES, Fla. (FLV) – The Florida Board of Education passed rules that require restrooms and changing facilities at private schools and Florida College System institutions be designated for exclusive use by biological males or females.
If not designated for exclusive use by biological males or females, the institution would provide a single-occupant, unisex restroom/changing facility.
This rule change would apply to student housing facilities owned or operated by the institution or by the institution’s direct support organization.
In July, the board previously voted to approve similar rules for K-12 public schools.
The new rule will implement HB 1521, which passed during the 2023 legislative session. The law prohibits people from willfully entering a restroom or changing area of the opposite sex, except in certain specified circumstances.
Under the new rule, postsecondary institutions would need to follow reporting compliance requirements. Institutions will certify to the department that they have met the requirements for facilities and disciplinary actions for students and employees who violate the new provisions.
Institutions are required to submit a Safety in Private Spaces Act Compliance Certification form to verify their facilities to meet these new requirements by April 1, 2024.
The certification submitted by the institution will encompass all facilities on all campuses, centers, and special purpose centers.
If a new facility is established after July 1, the president must submit the form within one year.
The rule also establishes disciplinary actions that Florida College System Institutions must implement for instructional and administrative personnel who violate the new provisions.
Florida College System institutions must establish a disciplinary policy for administrative personnel and instructional personnel who violate the law that complies with the following parameters:
1. Institutions must investigate each complaint regarding violations of the law and must have an established procedure for such investigations.
2. Disciplinary actions may utilize a progressive discipline process that includes verbal warnings, written reprimands, suspension without pay, and termination.
3. The disciplinary action taken should be based on the specific circumstances of the offense, however, a second documented offense must result in a termination.
4. Institutions must document violations of the law, and retain such documentation according to the institution’s records retention policies.
The college system institutions have to update their student codes of conduct and their employee disciplinary procedures for anyone who would violate the section of law. They also must update their employee employment manuals to include the procedures.
Some members of the public spoke in opposition of the rules during public comment.
“The proposed rule is an attack on the basic dignity of transgender students, faculty and staff and I oppose this rule,” one member of the public said.
Board member Grazie Christie said bathroom spaces are “very intimate, and private, and there is historically and cross culturally accurate reason why males and females use different spaces and those intimate moments not just for girls and women, but also for boys and men.”
Christie said this is “not something that as a culture, we should ditch because of very new ideologies that are challenging the science of male and female – which doesn’t change – because biology doesn’t change.”
Another rule passed Wednesday would create similar facility requirements in K-12 private schools.
Private schools must comply with all applicable requirements of the law pertaining to the use of restrooms and changing facilities by males or females, based on biological sex at birth.
Schools must also update the student code of conduct according to the law.
The rule states instructional personnel and administrative personnel who violate any provision of the law commit a violation of the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession.
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