A mother/coach let her daughter play volleyball. She’ll be suspended for 10 days now.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke at the Fiserv Forum on the second day of the Republican National Convention, which focused on crime and border policy. Photo: Jasper Colt/USA TODAY NETWORK via IMAGN

Broward County Public Schools employee Jessica Norton was suspended for 10 days but not fired for allowing her transgender daughter to play on the girls’ volleyball team.

“Obviously I don’t want to be fired from my job and I love my job, but I don’t think any suspension was the right decision,” she said after the meeting.

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The school committee voted 5-4 to suspend her after spending weeks investigating past instances of staff violations and determining the most appropriate punishment for the situation. Rather than firing her, the committee settled on a 10-day suspension. The state fined the school $16,500 for Norton’s daughter’s participation.

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Norton is an information specialist and junior volleyball coach at Monarch High School, and her daughter previously attended district school but now attends online school.

Superintendent Howard Hepburn had pushed for Norton’s firing, but the school board ultimately rejected his proposal at a meeting two weeks ago.

In Florida, it has been illegal for transgender girls to play on girls’ sports teams since the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis, was passed in 2021. The Norton family is currently in court challenging the law.

A debate took place on the floor to decide whether to suspend or fire Norton.

“In my opinion, what happened was criminal conduct,” School Committee member Brenda Pham said.

“Ms. Norton did not abuse or harm her child. She simply did what she thought was best for her daughter,” School Committee member Sarah Leonardi said.

“If we don’t fire them, it gives other people the belief that they can break the law, and I think that’s problematic,” School Committee Chair Lori Alhadeff said.

“The child has suffered enough, and so has this family, and I think we need to move forward,” School Committee member Jeff Holness said.

Norton responded, “He’s right. No one can understand what we’ve been through. We’ve endured death threats, harassing phone calls and letters sent to our home. This is all their fault, nothing I did. I was protecting my children. I repeat, I have done nothing wrong.”

Broward County Public Schools is the fifth largest school district in the nation, serving more than 200,000 students.

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