Rules that would have protected Florida students based on gender identity and sexuality have been blocked again in the state.
A federal appeals court has sided with other appeals courts and allowed a statewide injunction against Title IX rules to remain in place in Florida as a federal appeals court considers an ongoing legal challenge.
That means the federal rules, which would have protected LGBTQ students and the expression of their identity, are blocked from taking effect in the state.
Stetson University law professor Peter Lake said it’s left students and families in limbo.
“I think for students and families right now, it’s a ball of confusion. It’s really going to matter where you go to school. What type of school you go to,” said Lake.
Lake said these rules could be tied up for years in the courts, unless something drastic changes at the national level.
“A lot of it honestly depends on what happens politically, nationally in the November election cycle,” said Lake.
The new rules were also blocked in other Southern states like Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Louisiana.
Under Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, K-12 schools don’t have to use students’ preferred pronouns or allow them to use bathrooms aligning with their gender identity.
Governor Ron DeSantis and other opponents of the new Title IX rules said federal guidelines would take away safety protections for women and girls in classrooms and school sports teams.
