“There’s so many upset voices in our community over this,” said Jen Cousins. “I’ve heard from so many students and teachers who are just absolutely devastated over what happened.”

Officials say the Drag & Donuts event, to be hosted by the Boone High School Queer and Ally Alliance, was canceled after the Florida Department of Education intervened. The principal sent a message to parents, saying the district got a call from state education leaders questioning the event’s appropriateness, adding that any staff member who attended may be investigated by the state.

Cousins drafted a letter to school board members, demanding what happened be placed on the agenda for discussion at the next school board meeting. She posted the letter on social media and encouraged other parents to contact district leaders.

“Their silence is deafening,” she told Spectrum News 13. “By them not commenting about this publicly, by not saying, 'We support you, we’re sorry for what happened,' it’s really adding an extra layer of trauma to the students.”

Cousins’ letter also criticized Orange County School Board member Alicia Farrant for speaking out against the planned event.

Farrant sent Spectrum News 13 a statement, saying in part: “Many parents rose up and alerted school officials and the Department of Education. Canceling the drag queen speaker was a direct order from Tallahassee and I support their decision as an act of morality and principles that our public schools must uphold.”

Cousins is arguing that the decision to cancel the event violates the Parental Right in Education law, which limits classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation. In a court filing last June, the state wrote: “(T)he statute does not prohibit … participation in extracurricular activities (such as ‘Gay-Straight Alliances’).”

Farrant’s statement went on to add: “This decision will not take away students’ rights to invite special speakers to after school club meetings in the future, however, adult entertainment speakers in any form should never be permissible in our public schools to speak to or mentor minors. The Department of Education will not tolerate anything that jeopardizes the high standard that we are obligated to uphold.”

The School Board posted its agenda Monday afternoon for next week's meeting and discussion of Drag & Donuts was not included. Cousins said students and parents upset by what happened hope to speak about it during public comment section of the meeting.