Florida’s Ridiculous New Anti-Trans School Guidelines Ban Nicknames Without Parental Consent

The Orange County Public Schools System in Florida is now seeking new guidelines relating to the oh-so-critical issue of, names. The new guidance means that teachers must use pronouns that correspond to a student’s biological sex at birth. If that wasn’t enough, parents must fill out a form if there’s a deviation from a child’s legal name, including nicknames. 

If this seems like a bit of an overreach, that’s because it is. How many people go by nicknames? Almost everyone in my family has a nickname that is more commonly used than their legal or government name. But as an example, if a student is named Richard, he would need a parental form for people to call him Ricky. In another weird targeting of trans kids, the guidance means that parents can let teachers use a student’s given name but they aren’t required to use their chosen pronouns. And it wouldn’t be an oddly specific Florida schools list if bathrooms weren’t involved. Trans students will now be given “single stall” restrooms that they must use; they shouldn’t enter any group facilities that don’t align with their biological sex. Penalties can be provided for failing to comply.

This all puts more of a burden on students to go to their parents about every issue, and it is especially worrisome for trans youth who may not have a good relationship with their parents or guardians. I can’t help but think of the stories I have heard from friends and relatives who are teachers; they talk about how hard it is nowadays to get parents to be involved. Some of their students may miss 40 classes in a semester and their parents are clueless. Or a student forges their parent’s signature for a field trip because getting them to fill out the permission slip is too much work. So the solution: add more red tape. This is something I thought Conservatives were against! 

In another weird targeting of trans kids, the guidance means that parents can let teachers use a student’s given name but they aren’t required to use their chosen pronouns. And it wouldn’t be an oddly specific Florida schools list if bathrooms weren’t involved. If there is something the infamous HB2 bill from my state of NC taught us, it’s that people love discussing the potty! Trans students will now be given “single stall” restrooms that they must use; they shouldn’t enter any group facilities that don’t align with their biological sex. Penalties can be provided for failing to comply.

Orange County Public Schools can provide credence to other school systems and anti-woke crusaders who may want to establish similar guidelines. OCPS is the 8th largest school system in the entire nation. With Governor DeSantis, Florida as a whole is continuing to be a leader in right-wing infiltration via our schools. Heck, DeSantis is running a Presidential campaign almost entirely on how anti-woke he is. So we have to continue to ask ourselves why this is all happening. Why so many efforts to target students, their identities, and LGBT people in particular? Conservatives and their cronies are obsessed with trans kids and their bodies; it is kind of bizarre honestly. And why do their care SO much about pronouns? Does pronoun usage burden them so much that they have to implement all of these new rules regarding them? 

This is similar to the issue of trans athletes in sports. It isn’t even something common enough that it warrants legislative attention. But to merely report on these new guidelines does not give people the full picture. They fall on the heels of big government legislation like the infamous ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill that DeSantis pushed. Overall, Conservatives continue to use wedge issues like sexuality and gender with trans students as pawns in their political game. These are distractions from their lack of policies; they seemingly have nothing on the horizon that will help with jobs, prescription costs, or even their favorite current economic issue: inflation. They are using these culture wars to rile people up so they don’t realize how much they continue to do to protect the well-to-do. We must continue to hold them accountable for being such sly and unserious people.