TAMPA, Fla — At Tuesday night's Hillsborough County School Board meeting, we learned a lot about where the district stands when it comes to state compliance.
One hotly debated topic was the current sex education curriculum—which a magistrate scrutinized at a November 17 meeting after parent complaints.
Ultimately, the magistrate recommended that the district keep its sex ed curriculum the way it is, which led some to speak out in support.
"Sex and reproductive education should not be political, it's necessary to keep our kids safe, healthy, and responsible," said one parent.
But Tuesday, others claimed that the curriculum violates state rules and needs to be changed.
"I know what would stop the spread of STIs, and that would be an abstinence-based curriculum," said a parent.
The school board will have a final vote on the issue at an upcoming meeting.
It was also revealed Tuesday that the state department of education has flagged at least two district policies for being out of compliance with the "Parents' Bill of Rights."
This includes the district's "Racial Equity" policy and an "LGBTQ Resource and Support Guide" for staff.
The district superintendent, Addison Davis, said they've been trying since late October to get some clarity on why these policies are out of compliance—and only recently got a response. It's a revelation that came much to the frustration of some board members, like Jessica Vaughn.
"I think we need to keep that in the conversation that as aggressive as we are to try to stay in compliance and keep our policies updated, the legislation that's coming out—whether it's rules from the department of education or whether it's coming from our legislation—hasn't been explicitly clear in their expectations and exactly what that means," she said.
In this case, the school board will be holding a workshop on January 17, 2023, to work to get those policies into compliance.
