Mom of transgender athlete alleges retaliation in lawsuit against Broward schools

Orlando Sentinel | By Scott Travis | October 10, 2024

The mother of a transgender athlete has filed a new lawsuit against the Broward school district and the state, alleging she was subjected to retaliation, harassment and an intrusive investigation.

Jessica Norton, who was an information management specialist and coach at Monarch High in Coconut Creek, filed the suit in federal court Tuesday. She alleges she was targeted because her family filed another suit in 2021 challenging a law that bans students who are born male from playing on girls’ sports teams.

Norton’s transgender daughter played volleyball for Monarch during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and played soccer and volleyball at nearby Lyons Creek Middle in 2021.

“As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ unreasonable and unlawful conduct, the Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer substantial past and future damages including loss of income, loss of future earnings, severe emotional distress, damage to reputation, and embarrassment,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit also alleges that an investigation conducted by the school district focused largely on her role as a parent, not as a district employee.

A district review committee concluded Norton’s actions warranted discipline, because she knowingly allowed her child to participate, despite knowing about the state law. Superintendent Howard Hepburn recommended she be fired, but a divided School Board decided July 30 to suspend her for 10 days instead and move her to a new job.

She now works in the district’s building department. The suit alleges that new job is much farther from her home, and she’s no longer eligible to earn supplemental pay.

The district investigated eight other employees, including Monarch’s principal, in connection to the case. They were all cleared of wrongdoing.

The state Department of Education also investigated Norton and found probable cause to recommend revoking a coaching license she holds with the state. Norton has challenged that, and no final decision has been made.

“For the past eight months, my family has lived in a constant state of limbo and uncertainty — this abusive investigation has added unimaginable stress to our lives,” Norton said in a statement. “At every step of the process, I have been disregarded by the District both as a parent and dedicated employee.”

District spokesman John Sullivan defended the district’s actions.

“We don’t usually comment on pending litigation,” Sullivan told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “However, it is important to note that the Board’s action was based on enforcing state law and policies set forth by the Florida Department of Education. The District remains committed to ensuring a safe and welcoming environment for all students.”

A spokesperson for the state Department of Education couldn’t be reached.

The suit also individually lists Hepburn, School Board member Brenda Fam, Human Resources Chief David Azzarito, former district Police Chief Craig Kowalski, General Counsel Marylin Batista and two district police detectives who conducted an investigation into Norton, Holly Tello and Thomas Honan.

The dispute dates to June 2021, when Norton’s daughter, then a soccer and volleyball player at Lyons Creek, filed a lawsuit against the state and district challenging the law known as the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” which was just passed that year.

The suit was filed using only the student’s initials, D.N., and her parents’ first names, and did not specify what school the student played for. While some district lawyers knew who the plaintiff was, that information was not allowed to be shared with school or district administrators due to a protective order guarding the student’s privacy, district officials have said.

A federal judge sided with the state in November 2023, dismissing the case and upholding the law but also allowing Norton’s family to refile. Three weeks later, on Nov. 27, Norton was told she was under investigation due to her daughter’s participation on the Monarch team. Norton’s family filed an amended complaint in the original suit in January.

The district’s investigative report, released in June, said the investigation was based on an anonymous tip that School Board member Daniel Foganholi received. But Norton alleges the real reason is likely related to the 2021 lawsuit, since the investigation started shortly after the 2021 suit was dismissed.

“Defendants raised the fact of the underlying lawsuit several times during the course of their investigation, defendants attached the order dismissing the underlying lawsuit without prejudice to their Investigative Report, and a school board member raised the fact of the underlying lawsuit during the school board meeting where she was suspended,” the new complaint states.

The board member is Fam, who alleged on social media that Norton “flagrantly disregarded” the judge’s ruling and referred to the lawsuit during a July 30 meeting.

“Ms. Fam suggested that Ms. Norton was being ‘deceptive’ in allowing her daughter to play volleyball and stated that: ‘And then she turned around and filed a lawsuit to make sure that her child stayed in the female sports. Now, if she wasn’t doing something she didn’t think she had the legal right to do, then why file a lawsuit? Why would you do that?” the suit states.

The lawsuit said Norton filed the 2021 challenge “to defend her daughter’s rights.”

Fam couldn’t be reached for comment.

The new lawsuit also alleges that district detectives Tello and Honan asked Norton intrusive questions about her parenting that were unrelated to her job with the district. She alleges they also misgendered her daughter. The teen’s name and gender have been legally changed to female through the court system.

“I had to sit through an interview where the special investigative unit detectives insisted on referring to my daughter as my son, using he/him pronouns — refusing to use her legal gender — and refusing to use her legal name,” Norton said in her statement. “I had to read materials in the investigation in which the same detectives referred to my daughter as ‘it.’ District leadership tried to ruin my life, but instead they destroyed the life of an innocent 16-year-old girl.”

Rod Skirvin, who represents the detectives through the Broward Police Benevolent Association, told the Sun Sentinel, “we have no comment at this time.”

Norton is being represented by lawyers with the Human Rights Campaign, a national group that fights for LGBTQ rights.

“What this school district has put this family through is cruel and immoral,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the group. “The Broward County School District has failed at every step to provide Jessica Norton and her daughter with the protection and due process they deserve, let alone any dignity or respect — the Nortons deserve justice.”