USCA11 Case: 18-13592 Date Filed: 07/14/2021 Page: 43 of 80
form of birth certificates or other government-issued identification, and a pre-enrollment physical examination performed by the student’s doctor. See Fla. Stat. § 1003.22(1) (“Each district school board … shall require that each child who is entitled to admittance … present a certification of a school-entry health examination performed within 1 year before enrollment in school.”). The schools then require each student to use the restroom matching the sex determined through that process. They do not accept new documents to supersede the documents provided at the time of enrollment.
There is nothing wrong with the schools’ approach. No evidence suggested the schools’ method of identifying the sex of their students has ever produced an inaccurate result. Indeed, school officials confirmed that their method of determining students’ sex has not been a problem, and that they would change their method if it did not work well. More generally, self-reporting is often a reliable method for gathering information. It is good enough for filing tax returns, selective service registration, and the census. And the schools supplement students’ self-reported information by requiring support in the form of official documents.
Nor is there any reason for the schools to accept updates. A student’s sex does not come with an expiration date, and it does not require periodic updates to confirm its continuing accuracy. The object of the schools’ practice with respect to the enrollment documents is to determine students’ sex, not their gender identity.
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