Florida school lets go of teacher using a student’s ‘preferred’ name without parental permission
A Florida high school is refusing to renew the contract of a teacher who used a student’s preferred “gender identity” name without parental permission.
Florida law requires teachers to obtain signed permission from parents before calling their children by any name other than their legal one. The law, passed in 2023, was designed to keep parents informed if their children are succumbing to gender ideology and prevent activists from trying to recruit students into gender cults. Melissa Calhoun, a teacher at Satellite High School, knowingly flouted the law and called a student by their “preferred” name to enable the child’s gender confusion. The student’s parent reportedly alerted Brevard Public Schools (BPS), which is declining to renew Calhoun’s contract for next year.
“BPS supports parents’ rights to be the primary decision-makers in their children’s lives, and Florida law affirms their right to be informed,” Brevard Public Schools Spokesperson Janet Murnaghan said in a statement reported in Click Orlando. “After the accusation was made, the district conducted a detailed investigation. Based on the teacher’s own admission that she knowingly did not comply with state statute she received a letter of reprimand. Teachers, like all employees, are expected to follow the law.”
“At BPS our focus is on education — teachers are here to teach and support students academically,” Murnaghan added. “Our job is to work in partnership with parents and guardians to ensure student success.”
A stark change
Calhoun is the first teacher to be fired for violating Florida’s law. The move marks a stark change from other states like California, where schools are permitted to keep students’ gender dysphoria a secret from parents. In Michigan, schools are even allowed to withhold information from parents about what their children are being taught in the classroom. In some states, schools hold secret clubs where students are sexualized and inculcated with gender ideology without their parents’ knowledge. In Colorado, a bill that would deny child custody to parents who “misgender” their children is making its way through the state legislature.
