Florida highschool pupil Jack Petocz mentioned on Tuesday that he at the moment cannot run for sophistication president after main walkouts opposing anti-LGBTQ rights laws within the state, which led to his transient suspension in March.

Petocz mentioned in an announcement on Twitter that Flagler Palm Coast Excessive College issued a disciplinary motion in opposition to him which he mentioned would stop him "from operating for senior class president."

He mentioned that the choice adopted his college suspension that got here after organizing a mass protest in opposition to the state's Parental Rights in Training regulation, dubbed because the "Do not Say Homosexual" regulation that was signed into regulation by Governor Ron DeSantis in late March. The laws bans academics in Florida from discussing subjects associated to sexual id and sexual orientation in sure grade ranges.

"Once I returned, the administration assured me that no additional disciplinary motion could be taken. A month later, they broke this verbal settlement and positioned a stage 3 referral on my file. Now, as a consequence of this excessive stage of self-discipline, I'm being prevented from operating for senior class president," he mentioned within the assertion on Tuesday.

"I'm persevering with to be punished for standing up for my id and in opposition to widespread hatred. I've emailed [the] administration and the principal quite a few instances, they're merely ignoring me," he added.

Newsweek has not been capable of independently confirm whether or not the varsity's disciplinary motion, barring Petocz's from operating for sophistication president, is linked to his deliberate walkouts in March.

Petocz additionally referred to as for assist "in calling on these directors to cease silencing queer college students combating for a extra inclusive future." He urged supporters to ship an e-mail to the superintendent and directors of Flagler County Public Colleges "requesting they take the disciplinary infraction" off of his file.

"I will not be discouraged by this apparent try and silence our voices. We are going to hold protesting, we'll hold talking, we'll hold combating till no baby is subjected to this type of abuse of energy. Queer and trans college students are stunning and liked it doesn't matter what the state has to say about it," he wrote.

The Florida highschool pupil on Tuesday additionally continued to defend his stance in opposition to the invoice and mentioned that the protests organized at his college in March noticed "greater than 500 college students gathered to name on Florida lawmakers to cease policing our schooling for political achieve."

"I had personally bought greater than 300 of the [pride] flags to distribute and was instructed they weren't allowed and had been merely a 'political assertion,'" he mentioned as he recounted the incident on the time.

In March, Petocz mentioned that directors had been confiscating the scholars' delight flags and tried to take away them from campus.

Florida Student Fighting 'Don't Say Gay' Bill
Florida highschool pupil Jack Petocz mentioned that he at the moment cannot run for sophistication president after main walkouts opposing anti-LGBTQ rights laws within the state. ISTOCK/GETTY/SMOLAW11

"I inspired my fellow college students to not give in to the varsity's unconstitutional seizure of our delight flags, however as a substitute to proceed demonstrating our delight in a peaceable method," he mentioned on the time.

The teenager was suspended after the rally and was escorted off-campus, prompting an internet petition calling for his suspension to be revoked. The change.org petition gathered round 2,800 signatures by March 4.

Newsweek reached out to Flagler Palm Coast Excessive College and Jack Petocz for feedback.