Florida Attorney General warns of “swift legal consequences” after report that boys are sleeping in a girls’ cabin at Camp Crystal

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter to the School Board of Alachua County today after two biological boys were reportedly assigned to a second-grade girls’ cabin this week at Camp Crystal Lake. A social media post added, “Alachua Schools must immediately reverse this decision, or there will be swift legal consequences.”

The AG’s Office of Parental Rights received a complaint this week that two biological boys were sleeping in a second-grade girls’ cabin at the camp, which is owned and operated by Alachua County Public Schools. Uthmeier wrote that this “violates Florida law, and blatantly contradicts the School Board’s policy and the Camp’s own operational guidelines.”

Florida’s Safety in Private Spaces Act requires educational institutions to “establish disciplinary procedures for any student who willfully enters… a restroom or changing facility designated for the opposite sex on the premises of the educational institution,” where “sex” is defined as “the classification of a person as either female or male based on the organization of the body of such person for a specific reproductive role, as indicated by the person’s sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, and internal and external genitalia present at birth.” Uthmeier wrote, “Children in overnight sleeping facilities are entitled to privacy and protection guaranteed by the Act.”

The School Board’s Policy Manual includes the definition of “sex” shown above, and Camp Crystal’s website states, “Campers are divided into boys’ and girls’ cabins by age.” Uthmeier wrote, “Allowing male children to reside in cabins designated for girls directly contradicts these stated policies. This inconsistency not only undermines the integrity of the Camp’s operational commitments but also calls into question the Board’s oversight and enforcement of basic safeguards for children’s safety and privacy. Allowing boys to stay overnight in girls’ facilities violates the Camp’s policy, the School Board’s policy, and Florida law.”

Uthmeier concluded, “My office will not tolerate policies that place faddish ideology and social experimentation above the rights and safety of Florida’s children. The Board and Camp staff should immediately separate these children into their proper, sex-based sleeping quarters, and continue that practice in all future camp sessions. Failure to do so may require my office to undertake further legal enforcement measures and render district officials liable as otherwise provided by law.”

This week’s camp session ended today. After Uthmeier’s letter was posted in a local Facebook group, an anonymous poster wrote, “We had a camper there this week and were called the week before camp and asked if we would be okay with this arrangement. We declined and it wasn’t an issue.”

Alachua County Public Schools told Alachua Chronicle, “In keeping with district protocols, if a camper identifies as a gender other than that assigned at birth, families must give both written AND verbal permission for their child to be assigned to the same cabin. If the camper needs to change clothes, shower or use the restroom, that camper will do so in another cabin. Also, there are four adults and two Counselors in Training (CITs) assigned to the cabin, and there is constant supervision.”