BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A teacher in Brevard County has sparked blowback after she lost her job for calling a student by a “preferred” name, News 6 reported on Thursday.
The school district said that it won’t renew next year’s contract for the Satellite High School teacher — identified as Melissa Calhoun — because she called a student by the name the student wanted to be called by, as opposed to the student’s legal name.
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According to district officials, Calhoun knew she wasn’t supposed to use the student’s preferred name, but she did so anyway. After the student’s parents came forward, an investigation was launched looking into her behavior.
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Regardless, the incident begs the question: why was she let go?
To answer that question, we turn back to 2023, when Florida state lawmakers passed a bill (HB 1069) that prohibits K-12 public teachers in the state from using certain language in schools.
The legislation itself aimed to crack down on what some state leaders dubbed “woke gender ideology" in schools.
“The bill requires that it be the policy of every public K-12 educational institution that a person’s sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person’s sex,” Legislative analysts wrote.
More specifically, the law prohibits:
- Employees or students in K-12 public schools from being required to refer to others by a “personal title or pronouns that do not align with the person’s sex.”
- A K-12 public school employee from giving students the employee’s “preferred personal title or pronouns” if they don’t correspond to the employee’s sex.
- Any requirements that a student give his/her “preferred title or pronouns.”
- Any penalties against a student for nor providing his/her “preferred title or pronouns.”
In short, the law now requires Florida teachers to recognize students based on their biological sex, leading the Florida State Board of Education to implement a rule requiring written parental consent for teachers to use names that are different from a student’s legal name.
“Each school board must adopt a policy for educational records which must include…. provisions for parents to specify the use of any deviation from their child’s legal name in school. School districts will develop a form to obtain parental consent along with any required documentation, as appropriate.”
Rule 6A-1.0955(8)(m), F.A.C.
For example, a student named “Robert” would need a parent’s permission to be called “Rob” in the classroom. A copy of that form in Orange County can be found here.
Due to the rules, some school leaders recommended that educators only use students’ first names listed on a class roster.
Teachers who knowingly violate these rules face the potential revocation or suspension of their educator’s certificate, preventing them from being employed in Florida public schools.
In Calhoun’s case, district officials explained that she “knowingly did not comply with state statute,” causing her to receive a letter of reprimand.
“Teachers, like all employees, are expected to follow the law,” wrote Brevard Public Schools’ Chief Strategic Communications Officer Janet Murnaghan.
Murnaghan said that Calhoun’s contract will expire in May 2025, and because the state will be reviewing her teaching certificate based on her actions, the district chose not to renew the contract until the issue is resolved.