Since Aug. 22, Broward County Public Schools has implemented new procedures to comply with new Florida State Board of Education rules. Florida Administrative Code R. 6A-10.089 makes it necessary for all students to submit forms reviewed and signed by their parents in order to participate in after-school clubs and events. Without these forms, students are unable to partake in said club or event, which includes regularly scheduled meetings.

For some clubs, these forms will not affect them at all, or may even benefit them. Clubs can now have a more finite visual of who should be at their meetings and who should not.

“The new forms are meant so that we can make sure we have everyone accounted for when we go to meetings,” Marjory’s Garden Club co-President Riley Walsh said. “I feel as though having them can make it more organized.”

For others, these forms pose a threat to students who wish to participate in clubs that their parents may disagree with–particularly  clubs that revolve around politics, race, religion, gender or sexuality.

“I know that a lot of kids that had come to our club previously are not out to their parents,” co-President of the Gender-Sexuality Alliance Sage Gregory said. “It’s already really hard because a lot of kids don’t want to lie to their parents because then they could still get in trouble. It’s really dangerous.”

The reason the administrative code was initially implemented was due to an issue that began with Boone High School in Orange County, Florida. In March, a local drag queen attended a Queer and Ally Alliance meeting after school. No performance occurred, but this raised parents’ concerns about the activities their kids were engaging in after school.

The new code states that after-school activities must ensure the safety of students, as well as “protect the privacy of educational records as set forth in Section 1002.22, F.S., as well as the privacy interests of all students and parents.”

“It’s […] so the school knows who’s on campus and where students are at, and then the parents know that their students, that child, is taking a club or an activity after school,” athletic and activities director Albert Guzzo said. “So it’s just basically for precaution and safety.”

Club sponsors distributed club forms to students during their first meetings. Forms are also available on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School website. Students who wish to join a club should see the club sponsor ahead of time to complete the forms before attending club meetings.

This story was originally published in the October 2023 Eagle Eye print edition.