SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. – Another Satellite High School teacher could have her license suspended by the Florida Department of Education over a student using a preferred name in class, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
In the more recent case, teacher Kerry Clapper allegedly did not stop a then-17-year-old student from writing their chosen name on assignments without parental permission, according to an investigative report from Brevard Public Schools.
[VIDEO BELOW: State investigates teacher over student’s preferred name]
Officials with the Florida Department of Education told News 6 that a formal hearing has been requested, and Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas will seek a suspension of Clapper’s license.
Earlier this year, Brevard Public Schools said it wasn’t renewing Melissa Calhoun’s contract because she called a student by the name they wanted to be called by, not their legal name.
[VIDEO BELOW: Florida teacher loses job]
A parent had complained that educators were “grooming” a senior to transition by using the student’s chosen name without parental permission.
Florida law says that for a teacher to call a student by their preferred name, their parents have to give written permission. The Florida Legislature passed the law in 2023, and Calhoun was the first educator in the state to lose her job over it.
Clapper, who was investigated in March, told the school district she could not recall using the student’s chosen name, but she said the student sometimes wrote their chosen name on assignments, Florida Today reported.
However, the student’s parent spoke with the school principal multiple times and asked that Clapper be investigated, saying the student had said Clapper had been using their chosen name “for years.”
Clapper said she couldn’t remember calling the student by their chosen name.
The principal told Clapper not to accept classwork from students unless they used their legal name, according to Florida Today, which reported that Clapper said she spoke with the student about the matter.
The state Department of Education on May 28 sent a letter to Brevard Public Schools, informing them that a complaint had been filed against Clapper and that an investigation would be opened against her.
The case is ongoing.
[VIDEO BELOW: Discussion over teacher losing job for using student’s preferred name]