FHSAA board of directors hears public comments on menstrual questions
More than 150 people signed up to comment on the FHSAA’s proposal to remove questions about menstrual history from student athletes’ annual forms.
Katherine Kokal, Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach Post education reporter Katherine Kokal won the Lucy Morgan Award for In-Depth Reporting from the Florida Press Club. Her reporting focused on the inclusion of questions about menstrual history on sports registration forms for female athletes. Kokal’s work led to changes in the way these forms are filled out and submitted.
Kokal’s reporting also placed third in the Florida Press Club Excellence in Journalism competition for the Frances DeVore Award for Public Service. Her investigation into the inclusion of menstrual history questions on sports forms prompted reactions and changes locally, statewide, and nationally.
In February 2023, the Florida High School Athletic Association voted to remove the menstrual history questions from their forms. This decision came after discussions between FHSAA Executive Director Craig Damon and Governor Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff. The Palm Beach County School Board also removed these questions from their sports forms.
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Simultaneously, U.S. Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff of California and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of West Palm Beach introduced legislation that threatened federal education funding for public schools that required students to answer questions about their menstrual history. Kokal discovered that 34 states, including Florida, mandated these questions for high school student athletes.
“This reporter brought fresh eyes to a longstanding invasion of privacy, exhibiting a fearless willingness to question and confront what some might feel uncomfortable asking about. We need more of this,” one unnamed judge said.
Kokal also received second place for education writing in the largest circulation category.
More: Congress to take up ban on student menstrual history questions with Parental Bill of Rights
Palm Beach Daily News real estate editor takes top honors
Among the winners at the Florida Press Club awards was Palm Beach Daily News real estate editor Darrell Hofheinz. He received first place in the business writing category for his stories on the local real estate scene, construction delays at the Palm House hotel, and the Architectural Commission’s decision to reject a controversial mansion design.
The Palm Beach Daily News also received recognition, with editorial cartoonist David Willson winning third place in the competition. Hofheinz received additional awards for his government-news and general-news writing.
The Florida Press Club presented the awards at a ceremony in Clearwater Beach. The judging panel praised Kokal’s fearless reporting and the impact it had on public discourse.