Florida Instructs Schools to Ignore ‘Not Binding’ Title IX Federal Guidance

Then-Sen. Manny Diaz Jr. (R-Hialeah) closes on his Senate Bill 7030: Implementation of Legislative Recommendations of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission in the Florida Senate in Tallahassee, Fla., on April 23, 2019. Phil Sears/Photo via AP

Florida’s Department of Education on Thursday instructed school officials to ignore new federal guidance that interprets Title IX sex-based discrimination protections in schools to include the disputed concept of gender identity.

This comes after Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), which administers the national school-lunch program, notified schools without consulting Florida’s education department that they should comply with the federal guidance.