WTF? Mandatory Menstrual History For Florida School Athletes?

Daily Report USA

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), a group responsible for overseeing athletic programs in the state, recently published a draft that requires students to disclose their menstrual history. This change would make currently optional questions regarding the menstrual cycle mandatory, as reported by the Palm Beach Post. The form, if approved, would ask students if they have had a menstrual cycle and if so, at what age they started, their most recent period, and how many periods they have had in the past 12 months. These questions have been included in the state’s athletic participation form for over two decades but have been optional until now.

Opposition to the Proposed Change

The proposed change has sparked controversy and criticism, with some people viewing it as an effort to stigmatize and exclude transgender students from participating in sports. Maxx Fenning, president of PRISM, a South Florida-based organization that provides sexual health information to LGBTQ+ youth, stated that “This is an extremely invasive mode of gleaning into someone’s reproductive history, which is especially dangerous in this post-Roe world we live in.”

The controversy surrounding the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community in Florida’s school districts has increased over the past year. Last March, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education law, which prohibits instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade and potentially restricts such instruction for older kids. This move has been criticized as Florida’s “Don’t say gay” bill.

A few months later, the Miami-Dade School Board voted against recognizing October as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History Month, despite recognizing it the previous school year.

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The FHSAA board will discuss the potential mandate on February 26-27 in Gainesville.

Why the Change is Being Considered

The recommendation comes months after a Palm Beach Post investigation revealed that some school districts store student information online. Following the report, the FHSAA’s sports medicine committee faced pressure to update Florida’s athlete registration form. Earlier this month, the committee recommended that all pages of the form, including the menstrual history, be turned over to schools. However, this goes against the national form used by over a dozen other states, which requires that information not be shared with schools.

While some committee members believe that the information should be shared with schools, others argue that coaches, who are not healthcare providers, should not have access to someone’s medical records.

Reactions to the Proposed Change

Juan Alvarez, whose daughter Annelise plays volleyball at St. Brendan School in Miami, does not have an issue with revealing menstrual history if the policy becomes mandatory. Annelise is a 11th-grade student who plays as an outside hitter/defensive specialist on the school’s indoor volleyball team and will also play for the school’s beach volleyball team this spring.

Representatives from the Greater Miami Athletic Conference and the Broward County Athletics Association did not respond to phone calls from the Miami Herald, and multiple coaches at South Florida high schools declined to comment on the matter.

For Maxx Fenning of PRISM, access to someone’s medical information is another attempt to restrict reproductive autonomy and prevent transgender students from “just being kids and playing sports.”

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FAQ:

Q: What is the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA)?
A: The FHSAA is a group responsible for overseeing athletic programs in the state of Florida.

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