Florida High School Punished for Letting Boy Play on Female Sports Team

Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Fla., in January 2023. Google Maps/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

A Florida high school has been fined for letting a boy who claims he’s a girl play on a female sports team.

Allowing the transgender student to play volleyball with girls was violative of state law and Florida High School Athletic Association policy, the association informed Monarch High School in a Dec. 12 letter.

The association’s policy states that boys may not participate on female sports teams “if the school’s overall boys’ athletic program equals or exceeds the girls’ overall athletic program.”

A Florida law passed in 2021 and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, bars males who identify as females from participating in women’s sports. The law was upheld recently by a federal court.

Broward County officials reported to the athletic association that a male had played on the girls’ volleyball team, prompting an investigation.

The investigation resulted in the determination that the school violated the law and association policy, and the association levied a $16,500 fine, Justin Harrison, an associate executive director with the association, informed the school and county in the new letter.

The fine is based on the number of games the volleyball team played in recent years.

The association is also formally reprimanding the school, which means the school will have an official censure on its record; placing it on administrative probation through November 2024; requiring school representatives to attend a compliance seminar; and requiring the school to host association staff for a compliance workshop.

Dorian Norton, the boy who says he’s a girl, is also not eligible to participate in sports at any schools that are a member of the association. The boy participated in two seasons of volleyball.

“Thanks to the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida passed legislation to protect girls’ sports and we will not tolerate any school that violates this law,” Manny Diaz Jr., Florida’s education commissioner, told The Epoch Times via email. “We applaud the swift action taken by the Florida High School Athletic Association to ensure there are serious consequences for this illegal behavior.”

The Florida Department of Education previously said in a statement: “Under Governor DeSantis, boys will never be allowed to play girls’ sports. It’s that simple.”

Mr. DeSantis said when signing the law, “We believe in the state of Florida protecting the fairness and integrity of women’s athletics.”

The letter was first reported by the Daily Signal.

Moira Sweeting-Miller, the principal of Monarch High School, and Broward County Superintendent Peter Licata did not respond to requests for comment.

Broward County Public Schools has a policy that transgender students should play on the sports team that corresponds with their gender identity. But Mr. Licata told reporters in November that, moving forward, the district would make sure students were “eligible for the sport they’re playing ... in accordance with state law” and association policy.

Court Ruling

Dorian and Dorian’s parents brought a legal case against the law, arguing it illegally discriminated against transgender females in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

Title IX says, for instance, that no person in the United States “shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity, receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Broward County receives federal assistance, as does the athletic association either directly or indirectly, the suit stated.

“Under Title IX, excluding transgender individuals from school programs or athletic opportunities within schools is discrimination on the basis of sex,” it alleged.

U.S. District Judge Roy Altman disagreed, ruling against the plaintiffs.

The law “simply provides that, consistent with the inherent biological differences between the sexes, biological boys (of whatever gender identity) cannot play on girls’ sports teams,” said Judge Altman, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.

He noted that under the law, Dorian can still play on boys’ teams or coed teams.

Dorian and his parents had accused state legislators of animus against trangender people, including state Sen. Kelli Stargel, who said at a press briefing that “men are stronger than women.”

The judge said the legislators were merely emphasizing “the inherent biological differences between men and women in a way that comports with [the law’s] express interest in giving female athletes an opportunity ’to demonstrate their strength, skills, and athletic abilities,'—without having to compete with biological men.”

Dorian’s family says Dorian identified as a girl from a very young age when the boy Dorian was 5 or 6, his parents “realized based on D.N.’s behavior and statements, that their daughter was transgender.”

Dorian was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at 7 and shortly after began using a girl’s name, the family said.

At age 11, Dorian took puberty blockers, and recently started taking estrogen and will continue to do so for the rest of his life, the suit stated.

Making Dorian participate on boys’ teams would open him up to “an invasion of privacy” because he identifies as a girl, he and his parents said. “It is not an option for her to be on the boys’ team, because she is not a boy,” they said.

Losing the ability to participate on female teams would lead the boy to stop playing sports altogether, the family said.

Some students spoke out in support of letting the student play.