Mom of transgender student says family has received outpouring of support, but lost their privacy

“There is a long history in this country of outing people against their will — forced outing, particularly of a child, is a direct attempt to endanger the person being outed”

Scott Travis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Dec 4, 2023


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The mother of the transgender student at the center of a controversy involving Monarch High’s girls volleyball team has issued a statement saying the family had both received support and suffered a loss of privacy in the past week.

The mom, Jessica Norton, is also one of five employees who has been reassigned from Monarch High during an investigation. The school district is investigating whether school officials allowed Norton’s daughter to violate a 2021 state law that bans students who are born male from playing on girls’ teams.


Norton is an information management specialist at the school who also has served as a volleyball coach.

The reassignments or suspensions of the five employees, which also included Principal James Cecil, prompted two days of student walkouts last week.

Many of the students voiced support for Norton’s daughter, chanting messages such as “Let her serve.”

“The outpouring of love and support from our community this past week has been inspiring, selfless and brave,” Norton said in a statement released from the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ rights group that has defended the family in a legal battle. “Watching our community’s resistance and display of love has been so joyous for our family — the light leading us through this darkness. I want everyone to know that we see you, and we are so grateful for you.”

Norton added, “A lot of things were taken from my family this week — our privacy, sense of safety, and right to self-determination.

“There is a long history in this country of outing people against their will — forced outing, particularly of a child, is a direct attempt to endanger the person being outed,” she said. “We kindly ask everyone to respect our family’s privacy, and to give our family the space we need to speak to our experience on our own terms and timeline.”

The family has been fighting a legal battle for more than two years. The family sued the state in hopes of overturning the 2021 law, known as the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.” The lawsuit doesn’t name the student or her school and identifies her parents by their first names. A judge ruled in favor of the state last month but has allowed the student to file an amended complaint.

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