SARASOTA COUNTY- New “Gender Diverse Guidelines” for Sarasota County Schools are designed to protect students from bullying and discrimination, but since being released the school board chair and superintendent are disagreeing on how to implement them. Sarasota School Board Chair Bridget Ziegler heard the district would send out “Gender Diverse Guidelines” to schools in an email from the Superintendent last week, without a vote from the board.
“Something that as highly controversial,” Ziegler said. “Of high public interest, and has serious implications needs to be discussed and vetted and supported by the board, he’s doing this under the guise of guidelines vs. policy, circumventing the board and I think that’s a disservice to the public.”
It is up to the school board to develop policy to hire the superintendent and provide direction to him,” Dr. Bowden said. “My job as Superintendent is to do the same for our school leaders, to provide direction to them, which is exactly what these guidelines do.”
These guidelines have been in the works for over a year after the district set up a task force of students, principals, teachers and non-profits to help develop best practices. Superintendent Todd Bowden says these guidelines are for the most part already in use in the schools.
“I think what was most remarkable with the interaction with the principals was how little questions that they had,” Bowden said. “Because when they looked at the guide it reflected what they were currently doing.”
“We started recognizing that kids needed some options on campus,” Dr. Rachel Shelley said. “And we started implementing those options with a lot of student input, faculty input and staff, so for Booker High School it was not a surprise because we had systems in place.”
Booker High Junior Lily Karins came to Booker from Pine View, and is proud that Booker’s policies are now district wide.
“There’s such a vast difference between Pine View and Booker,” Karins said. “Because Booker steps away from being like so you’re either this this or this, Booker is just like you are what you are and we respect that.”
ALSO youth executive director Nathan Breummer says these guidelines reflect nationwide best practices.
“When we put the best practices in place,” Breummer said. “We see kids lives transformed, just turn into different children, they are so resilient, and they’re living such positive lives.”