Students walk out of Monarch High amid transgender athlete controversy

South Florida Sun Sentinel | By Scott Travis | November 28, 2023

The turmoil related to a transgender athlete at Monarch High continued Tuesday, with students at the school staging a walkout as well as the state and Superintendent Peter Licata speaking out on the issue for the first time.

A crowd of several hundred students from the Coconut Creek school left their classes or lunchrooms at noon Tuesday to protest the fallout related to the revelation that a transgender girl played volleyball on the girls’ varsity team. A state law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021 bans students who were born male from playing on girls’ sports teams.

Superintendent Peter Licata told reporters Tuesday morning at the district headquarters in Fort Lauderdale that he first learned it Nov. 20 from someone who didn’t want to be identified.

Most employees were out last week for the Thanksgiving break, but by Monday, Licata had reassigned or suspended five school officials: Principal James Cecil, an assistant principal, the athletic director and two volleyball coaches.

“I received a call from the constituent that there could be some factors that were not appropriate for girls’ volleyball,” Licata said.

After discussing with two other administrators, “we made our plans for the actions to be taken early Monday morning.”

The State Department of Education weighed in for the first time, expressing outrage and calling for “serious consequences.”

“Under Governor DeSantis, boys will never be allowed to play girls’ sports. It’s that simple,” said Cailey Myers, communications director for the education department.

“As soon as the Department was notified that a biological male was playing on a girls’ team in Broward County, we instructed the district to take immediate action since this is a direct violation of Florida law,” Myers said. “It is completely unacceptable for the male student to have been allowed to play on a girls’ team, and we expect there will be serious consequences for those responsible.”

But the shakeup at the school angered many students, who sided with the transgender athlete. They had announced plans Tuesday morning for a walkout into the parking lot at noon. Interim Principal Moira Sweeting-Miller got wind of the plans.

“When the time comes and they begin to walkout, do not stop them,” Sweeting-Miller said in an email to staff members. “We have a plan in place for when they reach outside.”

That plan apparently involved redirecting the students to the outside field so they would stay on campus. Students held up signs saying, “Trans rights are human rights,” and “Let her play.” They chanted similar messages. Some students could also be heard calling for the leaders removed from the school to return.

Students were kept far from the news media, who were ordered by security to stay on a sidewalk outside the school, separated from the students by a median, a parking lot and two fences.

The protest ended about 12:30 p.m. with students returning peacefully to the school building.