Duval County Public Schools chairman speaks on record-breaking board meeting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Crowds gathered outside DCPS hours before its May board meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss a resolution that would have the district formally support the parental rights in education law.

One trans community member spoke out against the law,

“HB 1557 has introduced a false bogeyman. This ideal that they want to indoctrinate your eight-year-old… nobody is talking about sex to eight-year-olds.”

While another community member, Gordon Terry, said schools should tell parents everything.

“No school board school or teacher should have the authority to make decisions for our children that purposely keep it from the child’s parents.”

The Chairman of the board spoke to Action News Jax today. He says the board was already re-evaluating its LGBTQ+ guidance.

“We’re going to follow the law but we also want to make sure we can support our students who are inside of our schools,” Chairman Willie said.

Charlotte Joyce introduced the resolution. Action News Jax reached out to her both over email and phone for the last two days to ask why she introduced a resolution supporting something the district will have to follow anyway. She has not responded.

Joyce sits on one of two seats up for re-election this November. This resolution would show the governor she supports his legislation ahead of her campaign.

Action News Jax asked the chairman, “Miss Joyce is up for reelection this November. Do you think that had a part to play in why she would introduce this resolution?”

“I can’t read into her motivations directly, I know our protocol process normally for resolutions is that we bring them to the body,” Willie responded.

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The resolution turned the board meeting into a massive public speaking forum- a record number of 293 people signed up to speak- with a possible 3 minutes each to speak- public comment could have gone for nearly 15 hours. In the end, about 150 people got up to speak and some didn’t take the full time- so public comment lasted from 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Community members supporting the resolution spoke for the first few hours.

“You would have been in jail. you would’ve been in jail. if you are not promoting it you are complicit in allowing things like this in the name of tolerance of bullying I don’t like what I’m seeing,” One man said.

After about 9 p.m., more members against the resolution, including trans students, LGBTQ teachers, and families like Emily Maass’ spoke out.

“I’m afraid that this kind of resolution will lead to a more hostile environment for us.”

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A teacher in Duval, who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, added, “sometimes their families we’ll say we are going to beat the gay out of you. If you come out. I am opposed to that matter into this harm.”

The chairman said hearing from the public let the board know what misinformation needed to be cleared up.

“We don’t have any instruction right now or curriculum for k to third grade that is about anything sexual. And I think that’s what people were misinformed about. They came and said hey you’re doing this, but we are not doing that. We have not been doing that.”

In the end, the board tabled the resolution indefinitely.

“We actually table to indefinitely meaning it’s now it’s not… it’s not anything it’s gone.”

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