Sarasota school district pauses changes to student conduct policy after hours of public comment

Sarasota County — After more than three hours of public comment Wednesday night, the Sarasota County School Board paused consideration of proposed revisions to its nondiscrimination and student code-of-conduct policies that would remove specific enumerated protected classes and separate student and employee protections.

The board tabled action on policy changes tied to agenda items 10.2 and 10.3 after the chair proposed language to cite the federal and state authorities the district is following and to show which categories apply to students and which apply to employees. The board voted 3-2 to table the student-policy items for further review.

Why it matters: Hundreds of community members and dozens of students attended to push the board to retain explicit protections for groups such as LGBTQ+ students, students of color and students with disabilities. Speakers argued that named protections provide clarity for administrators, encourage reporting and reduce bullying; supporters of the changes said the district must align its policies with recent court rulings and federal guidance to remain compliant and to…