SARASOTA — Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler has vowed once again to uphold her stance on limiting transgender influence in the classroom and in sports after a recent federal ruling added “gender fluidity” in Title IX, a longtime civil rights law.
In a social media post Wednesday, Ziegler shared an anti-Title IX resolution she will present at Tuesday’s board meeting.
According to the documents, Ziegler wants Board members to agree that “sex cannot be changed, fluid or altered;” affirm that biological differences exist between the two sexes to “commit to protecting female sports;” and commit to single sex facilities for staff and students, including restrooms and locker rooms.
The resolution has not appeared out of thin air.
Last month, Ziegler made her stance known after posting a tweet on “X” bashing President Joe Biden administration’s final set of changes to Title IX that add protections for transgender students on sex-based discrimination.
“The Biden Admin is attempting to extort school districts with our own tax dollars,” Ziegler said. “It’s an attack on girls & women, attack on parental rights and an attack on our constitutional rights.”
The Title IX changes are to take effect in August, though many Florida politicians — including DeSantis, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. — have vowed to block the new rule under the Congressional Review Act.
In her resolution, Ziegler also asked School Board members to support DeSantis’s legal challenge of the U.S. Department of Education’s rule changes to Title IX, stating the U.S. DOE’s recent changes to Title IX would have a “devastating impact on our students, families, staff and overall school community, particularly, women and girls.”
This is not the first time Ziegler has taken to social media over transgender issues.
In 2023, Ziegler posted a selfie of herself online in a T-shirt that read, “Real women aren’t men” in response to Bud Light’s decision to feature a transgender woman as their spokesperson in an ad.
The post went viral, contributing to more controversy at board meetings and concerns of safety throughout local LGBTQ+ communities.
Months later, Ziegler was caught up in a scandal involving a sexual relationship between her, her husband and another woman. The woman accused Christian Ziegler of sexual battery and video voyeurism, but charges were ultimately dropped by the state attorney.
Many residents have accused Ziegler of hypocrisy after pushing conservative agendas and laws despite her involvement in an LGBTQ+ relationship.
Board member Tom Edwards said Wednesday this resolution is just another example of that hypocrisy.
During a board workshop two weeks ago, the District 3 Board member proposed a resolution on student equity — what many saw as a peace offering to the LGBTQ+ community — for the board to sign.
After more than 45 minutes of debate, board member Robyn Marinelli tore up the resolution during the workshop while Ziegler chastised Edwards for “wasting attorney dollars” on “unnecessary resolutions” without board approval.
With the roles now reversed, Edwards said Ziegler’s hypocrisy “knows no boundaries” after introducing her own resolution.
“Why would we pass a resolution that’s not a law, but when I asked for one about a law, it was ripped up and thrown away?” Edwards told The Daily Sun.
Before anything can be voted on, the resolution will need to be brought forward with a motion and then seconded.
If approved by a majority by the five-member School Board in a vote, the resolution must then be signed by Chair Karen Rose and Superintendent Terry Connor to be approved.
“The school district is only involved in School Board resolutions after they are approved, and only at the direction of the School Board (via the Superintendent) as it pertains to enacting School Board policies,” Whealy said.
Connor was not immediately available for comment Wednesday evening, according to officials. Rose could not be reached for comment.
Edwards said the resolution has left him disappointed in his fellow board members, apologizing to SCS students who identify as transgender or gender fluid.
“I am continuously dismayed by the conversations and controversy that this board puts forth,” he said. “I’m sorry that board members continue to harass you.”
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