Florida announces new rules on bathroom use, book challenges

Bathroom facilities at colleges must be used based on assigned sex at birth
A new appeals process will let parents challenge districts on book removal
Student leaders at one college had to remove LGBTQ+, BLM pins

Updated: Aug 24, 2023 / 03:08 PM EDT

FILE – Amanda Darrow, director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents on Dec. 16, 2021, in Salt Lake City. With legislators in Florida barring even the mention of being gay in classrooms and similar restrictions being considered in other states, books with LGBTQ+ themes remain the most likely targets of bans or attempted bans at public schools and libraries around the country, according to a new report Monday, April 24, 2023. Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir “Gender Queer,” was the most “challenged” book of 2022, the second consecutive year it has topped the list. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

(NewsNation) — Florida’s Board of Education has announced new rules regarding bathrooms on college campuses and procedures to challenge books parents find offensive.

The restroom rule would mandate those at state colleges use restrooms based on their sex assigned at birth, not their gender identity. Faculty and staff could be fired if they use a facility that does not correspond to their assigned sex at birth.

The rule applies to both instructional facilities and student housing. Schools will also have to provide a unisex restroom.

The state also announced a change to the policies on challenging offensive books in schools. A new rules gives parents the right to appeal a district’s decision regarding a challenged book to a special magistrate.

The magistrate would not have the power to restrict books, but would be able to rule on whether districts had a policy regarding books with offensive material and if the decision followed that policy.

In another incident that prompted criticism, student leaders at New College of Florida were told to remove pins supporting Black Lives Matter or the LGBTQ+ community from their clothing and backpacks.

A board appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has already made other controversial changes at the school, including cutting gender studies and abolishing the college’s diversity office.