Florida school board employee suspended after her trans son competed against female volleyball players

A Florida school employee has been suspended for letting her son compete against high school volleyball players.

The Broward County School Board voted 5-4 Tuesday to suspend Monarch High School computer information specialist Jessica Norton for 10 days without pay to let her 16-year-old son compete on the school girls volleyball for at least two years.

“The board found that Norton's actions violated the state's Equity in Women's Sports Act, which prohibits transgender women from playing high school sports for girls,” according to the New York Post. “Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature adopted it in 2021.”

As part of the suspension, Norton may no longer work as an IT information specialist, but is entitled to a job with similar pay and responsibility.

“Our employee decided not to comply with the law, [but] it was a first offense [and] we wouldn't fire someone on their first offense,” board member Debbi Hixon said during Tuesday's hearing.

#Passing now: The school board in Broward County, Fla., is debating whether to fire an employee whose transgender daughter competed in girls' high school volleyball, allegedly in violation of state law.

Jessica Norton is an information specialist at Monarch High in the district… pic.twitter.com/wcQhWBXktr

— Classroom Crisis (@CITClassroom) July 30, 2024

The drama surrounding Norton's son began last November when Broward County School Board member Daniel Foganholi, a DeSantis appointee, reported receiving an “anonymous tip” that a man was playing Monarch High School girls volleyball team.

Norton was then removed from her position and placed on paid leave after the board investigated and learned of both her son's activities and her decision to identify her son as “female” in the records school children

Norton is now adamant she did nothing wrong.

“I mean, obviously I don't want to be fired from my job, I love my job, but I don't think the decision of any suspension was right,” he told the local station. WTVJ.

“There's no way around it, I'm punishing myself because I'm the mother of a transgender student,” she said in a separate statement to the Campaign for Human Rights. “While I can finally breathe a sigh of relief that this 239-day investigation is over, ending constant scrutiny and allowing me to keep my job, I am still frustrated with the decision the school board made today.”

“Every action I took to support my daughter was as a parent, not as an employee of Monarch High School; it was never my decision whether my daughter played volleyball,” he added.

For you, she doesn't have a daughter, she has a son.

RIGHT NOW! Jessica Norton and her media entourage STORM OUT of Broward school board meeting after board member Brenda Fam calls her out on her shenanigans!

Norton faces dismissal for manipulating records to allow her biological male child to participate in girls' sports. pic.twitter.com/4gkRbOSwog

— Chris Nelson (@ReOpenChris) July 30, 2024

Norton has also claimed that the school ruined her son's life.

“My daughter was blossoming at Monarch, I saw the light in her eyes shine with future plans to host and attend prom, participate and lead in upper class traditions and speak at graduation, 203 days ago. [at the start of the investigation]I saw that light go off,” he testified during a board hearing last month.

“She walked out the front door of the school, distraught, never to be heard from again: 203 days later, no one cared. The school administration claims to care about all students, but no they care about my son they should all be ashamed of being in charge of the kids life they had no problem destroying my daughter's life but you know what if i am the one villain of her story because I'm the hero of my daughter's story,” she added.

Overall, Norton was lucky. Some board members like Brenda Fam and Lori Alhadeff wanted to fire her.

“I think what happened is criminal in my opinion,” Fam said in a statement.

“And if we don't stop, then others would be led to believe that they too can break the law, and I have a problem with that,” added Alhadeff, the board president.

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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