Central Florida’s public school students head back to campuses Thursday, and if any of them go by a nickname or a name that isn’t in their official school records, parents must give permission for teachers to use those monikers.
Orange County Public Schools said the new rule applies if parents want a boy named Robert to be called Rob or want a transgender girl with the name Robert on the birth certificate to be called Roberta instead.
The notification from Seminole County Public Schools about the new rule tells parents, “without the signed consent form from parent/guardian, staff are required to use only the legal name of the student.”
The new requirement stems from a State Board of Education rule adopted in July that aims to “strengthen the rights of parents” and requires school districts to use legal names unless parents provide permission to do otherwise.
A new Florida law passed this spring says that schools cannot be required to use a pronoun that does not correspond with a student’s biological sex nor can employees ask students about their preferred pronouns.
OCPS Attorney John Palmerini told school administrators about the new law in a recent memo and said that it is not yet clear if a teacher can use a student’s preferred pronoun if that pronoun is requested by a parent.
He suggested teachers stick with students’ legal names and parent-approved alternatives. “Another option teachers may use is to only use the last names of children when calling on them in class. This would avoid any issues with pronouns or first names which do not match the biological sex of the child at birth,” he wrote.
Teacher vacancies
OCPS had 450 teacher vacancies last week, and there were hundreds more in neighboring districts, as Florida’s ongoing teacher shortage continues.
“Sadly, the numbers across the state are as alarming,” Superintendent Maria Vazquez said during last week’s school board meeting.
OCPS will use district staff, school administrators and substitutes to cover classes without permanent teachers. Like districts around the state, it also will continue to recruit and hire teachers after classes begin.
“Please call us,” Vazquez said at Monday’s press conference. “We’re hiring.”
No phones allowed
A new state law requires students to keep cellphones silenced and away during classes, and OCPS has decided students can’t use them at lunch either. The Osceola County school district has a similar policy.
In Orange, students already seem unhappy. A “stop the OCPS phone ban” petition on change.org has more than 10,000 signatures from students upset about the new rule.
“I’m signing because at lunch is our time to relax away from books and we can have time to bond and make videos together,” one student wrote.
Reviewing books
School districts had to review books this summer to make sure what is in their school and classroom libraries doesn’t violate state prohibitions against materials depicting sexual conduct.
The process meant William Shakespeare’s plays and other classics faced at least temporary scrutiny in Orange and other districts across the state, as school librarians worried that sexual content could run afoul of the rules.
But this week the Florida Department of Education said the Hillsborough County school district’s plans to assign excerpts from Shakespeare, but not full plays, didn’t make sense.
“The Florida Department of Education in no way believes Shakespeare should be removed from Florida classrooms,” a department spokesman said in an email to the Tampa Bay Times.
Many school administrators, however, remain nervous about what books can be on their shelves.
AP Psychology?
School leaders are also confused about whether they can offer Advanced Placement psychology.
State rules prohibit teachers from providing lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation, topics covered in the AP class.
Education Commissioner Manny Diaz said the class could be offered in an “age appropriate” way but has declined to specify what that means. The College Board, which runs the AP program, said if the section on gender and sexual orientation is removed, the classes cannot carry the AP designation, and students will not be eligible for college credit.
As a result, all Central Florida school districts have moved students who signed up for AP psychology into other courses, saying without clear guidance from the state, they did not want to put their teachers at risk by having them teach a course that includes topics prohibited in Florida schools.
Gun-sniffing dog
Administrators across the region are focused on school safety as the new school year starts, as are the police departments who work with them.
Superintendent Serita Beamon said Seminole County Public Schools in recent years has seen an increase in “aggressive” and “careless” behavior by students.
“These behaviors cannot continue and will not be tolerated,” she said at her district’s back-to-school press conference Monday.
A retriever named Dragus will be on Seminole school campuses this year, walking around with a deputy from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
The dog is trained to sniff out guns, ammunition and other firearm components, said Sheriff Dennis Lemma. “Dragus is trained to detect things that are incredibly dangerous on campus,” he said.
He’ll move from campus to campus, Lemma said, sometimes doing sweeps of buildings after school along with his handler.
Police said parents should make sure their children do not take weapons or other banned items to school and do not post threats or other inappropriate messages on social media. Any threats should be reported, said OCPS Police Chief Bryan Holmes.
“Go with your gut on this,” Holmes said.
Everyone also should pay attention around campuses, which will be crowded with cars and students every morning and afternoon.
“Let’s put down our phones, slow down and pay attention, so our kids can be safe,” said Orange County Sheriff John Mina.
Hits: 0
