Changes to expect at Brevard Public Schools going into the 2023-2024 school year

It's been a year rife with change for Brevard students, teachers and administrators, from a new superintendent to an updated dress code policy to restrictions on what can — or can't — be taught in class.

Over the past several months, that change has taken place across the Brevard Public Schools district and throughout the state, touching on almost every aspect of school life. And modifications and overhauls continue, like the districrt's long-awaited updated discipline policy that's still in the works.

Here's a breakdown of the biggest differences you can expect to see going into the 2023-2024 school year at Brevard Public Schools.

New superintendent

Mark Rendell, former principal of Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School, was chosen by the school board as the new superintendent for Brevard Public Schools at the beginning of May. He was selected from a pool of 33 other candidates from around the country who initially applied between Feb. 24 and March 31.

Since he officially filled the position June 1, he's reorganized the district to eliminate two high-ranking cabinet positions and replace them with two new positions: chief of schools and assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. Rendell made the move out of a concern that the former positions shared overlapping responsibilities; the district had a lack of single ownership related to discipline and programs; and there was a need for support and supervision of schools.

He has goals of supporting teachers and students, addressing discipline, keeping the district competitive amid new universal vouchers, improving reading, enforcing state policies and building community relationships.

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Rendell's selection came about five months after former Superintendent Mark Mullins was ousted at the newly elected board's first meeting in November, and only a little more than a month after Interim Superintendent Robert Schiller was placed on administrative leave.

Universal school vouchers

One of the many changes that came this legislative session was the passage of HB 1, expanding Florida's voucher system to all students.

The new law, which removed income restrictions and enrollment limits, allows students to use vouchers to pay for private school tuition, homeschooling resources or use funding as part of an education savings account.

Brevard has 28 Title I private schools, as well as 14 charter schools.

Legislation impacting LGBTQ students

At a July 19 meeting in Orlando, the Florida Board of Education approved four amendments to policies related to LGBTQ students and teachers and created a new rule that advocates worried could impact students attending gay-straight alliances.

The amendments and new rule lay out further restrictions to align with recently passed legislation related to the use of bathrooms, classroom teaching and admission of minors to adult live performances.

One amendment provided updated language related to K-12 education aligning with House Bill 1521, which went into effect July 1 and requires that restrooms in publicly owned buildings — including schools — must be segregated by sex assigned at birth and not a person's gender identity. Schools may also have a unisex option available. According to the amendment, student codes of conduct around the state will have to be updated to create punishments for those who don't comply, and districts will need to certify to the Department of Education that all of their schools are in compliance with the law. Districts will also need to create disciplinary procedures for employees who violate the law or the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession.

Another amendment ruled that students must go by their legal name unless a parent or guardian's signs a form saying otherwise, while another — an amendment to the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida — said both students and teachers cannot go by a chosen name or pronoun that doesn't align with their sex assigned at birth.

This amendment and one other addressed teachers, with both addressing the incorporation of HB 1069. According to the amendments, teachers must provide students with classrooms that are "age and developmentally appropriate and aligned to the state academic standards."

Restrictions regarding discussions of sexuality and gender identity — previously only in place for K-3 teachers — were expanded through all grades. K-8 teachers may not provide instruction related to sexual orientation or gender identity except when necessitated by certain sections of the law, while 9-12 teachers can only provide instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity if it's required by state academic standards or is part of a reproductive health lesson. Parents may opt their children out of those lessons.

The new rule laid out guidelines related to school-sponsored events, activities and extracurriculars, saying that events must be consistent with Florida's Parental Bill of Rights and that children may not be admitted to adult live performances. The rule drew language from Senate Bill 1438, which LGBTQ advocates have criticized as an anti-drag bill.

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Additionally, the new rule will require signed permission slips for students attending after-school activities, events and extracurriculars. LGBTQ community members spoke at the board meeting about concerns that this may cut students off from gay-straight alliances if their families are not affirming.

"We had several students who were living homeless at 16, 17 years old because their parents kicked them out of their house for being gay, for being trans," said Will Larkins, a Winter Park High School graduate. "Their parents are not going to sign that permission slip, but these students only found solace in this community, this after-school activity."

Discipline policy in the works

The district spotlighted issues related to discipline in late November of last year, when school board chair Matt Susin stood outside Brevard County Jail with Sheriff Wayne Ivey to announce a "brand new day" for BPS students.

Susin promised the "most prolific policy the school district's ever had," though the district has yet to put a new policy in place. In January, an audit of discipline within the district, headed by auditor RSM, showed BPS was not dramatically different from comparable Florida districts and concluded that the main issue boiled down to a lack of a centralized office that handles discipline, with responsibility instead resting on teachers, principals and administrators.

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At a June 27 work session, Student Services gave a presentation to the board proposing changes to the discipline policy. Most of the proposed solutions suggested harsher punishments, including a suggestion of in- or out-of-school suspensions for pre-K students who engaged in one-sided physical aggression.

Additionally at that meeting, Rendell proposed organizational restructuring. That restructuring did not include a cabinet position to oversee discipline like the audit suggested creating.

A cabinet position was unneeded because Rendell's changes will "enable district staff to be more focused on assisting every aspect of our schools," said BPS Spokesperson Russell Bruhn, adding that includes everything from student achievement to behavior and discipline.

"It also includes classroom management, mentoring teachers and community outreach," he said. "With that in mind, a cabinet position to oversee discipline was not needed. Student Services will work on the district’s discipline policy and will also provide staff training on proper reporting procedures."

He added that the chief of schools will be responsible for ensuring that the discipline policy and training are implemented.

No final decisions were made. It was not immediately known when discipline would be discussed again.

Updated dress code

Over the summer, the school board voted to update the dress code policy, with what they called a goal to make it less vague. The updated policy lays out specific guidelines for various grade levels and eliminates vague words like "modest," instead giving more specific requirements regarding the length of shorts and shirts, opaqueness of clothing and not allowing certain areas of the body to be exposed.

One update to the policy that drew the attention of both community members and national news outlets was the rule banning attire that "emulates non-human characteristics." The ban was put in place after board members expressed concerns about furries, or people who dress up like animals, with Board Chair Matt Susin saying he didn't want to see kids in animal-related clothing or engaging in behaviors like meowing or barking.

"I'm all about trying to find a way that that is not acceptable in any way, because what it does is, they then do the barking and all the other weird stuff," Susin said.

The board argued that aspect of the policy was "driven by student voice," citing a student survey with 2,256 comments.

Book review committee on pause

An updated book review policy was approved at an April 11 meeting. But that policy is already likely going to be redone yet again, with the board citing concerns about book review committee members being harassed and the need to add verbiage related to HB 1069, which took effect July 1. The law says if a district finds material that meets the state's definition of "sexual conduct," it "shall discontinue use of the material for any grade level or age group for which such use is inappropriate or unsuitable." What the state defines as "sexual conduct" is broad, ranging from bestiality to sexual intercourse to physical contact with a person's "clothed or unclothed" genitals, buttocks or breasts.

The first and only book review meeting with the new committee was held June 2, where the committee voted to remove three Rupi Kaur poetry books from all district shelves and classrooms. Their decision will remain in place for eight years and cannot be appealed.

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While the review committee is on pause indefinitely, requests are still coming in for reviews. BPS' media website lists 31 books awaiting formal review by the committee. At the end of June, about 155 titles — submitted as part of an informal review request of nearly 300 books — were pulled from some school shelves.

Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: What's new at Brevard Public Schools for the 2023-2024 school year?