Bathrooms restricted to gender from birth on Florida college campuses

After a vote by the Florida Department of Education, anyone who steps onto a Florida college campus must use the bathroom consistent with the gender they identified with at birth or a single-occupant unisex bathroom.

The policy, voted in on Wednesday, gives options if a faculty member violates it once: they can face a verbal warning, suspension without pay or termination.

“If they use a bathroom aligning with their gender identity a second time, they must be fired, must be fired over the use of the bathroom,” said a parent at the Florida Department of Education meeting.

Hugh Clark, the Chair of the Social Work Department at Florida Gulf Coast University said, “The bathroom issue, it is just one more piece of the puzzle that says maybe Florida is not a welcoming state. Employers will find the same thing, but the people I have talked to in terms of searches for faculty and staff said they’re not getting the applicants they have in the past.”

Some believe the policy may interfere with safety, which in turn will interfere with academic performance and have long-lasting impacts on higher education.

“COVID was tough, but a policy like this, that is state law, essentially really impacts them at every level: psychologically, physical,” Clark said. “They have such a strong agenda against a certain group of people that they don’t care about the impact, and I wish they would consider how is this impacting the students, how does this impact a faculty member.”

The policy applies to the state college system with a network of 28 regional campuses, which includes FSW. It does not apply to the state university system of Florida which runs 12 flagship campuses, including Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of Florida.