Three Florida teachers are suing the state for discrimination over a law, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, that bans them from using pronouns and titles consistent with their gender identities. File photo by Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA-EFE
Dec. 14 (UPI) — Three Florida teachers are suing the state education department for discrimination over a law, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, that bans them from using pronouns and titles consistent with their gender identities.
The two transgender women and one nonbinary teacher, who was fired for using the gender-neutral honorific “Mx.,” are being represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
The lawsuit claims Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act discriminates against the teachers on the basis of sex and violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
AV Schwandes, who taught science at an online public high school in Florida, was fired after using the title “Mx.,” in email signatures to students.
“As a Florida public school, FLVS is obligated to follow Florida laws and regulations pertaining to public education. This includes laws … pertaining to the use of personal titles and pronouns within Florida’s public school system,” Florida Virtual School said in a statement last month regarding the firing.
Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act bans “classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity” from prekindergarten through eighth grade and restricts health education in sixth through 12th grade. It also prohibits teachers and students from using pronouns and titles that do not represent their sex at birth.
While two of the plaintiffs — one who transitioned in 2020 and another who came out as trans in 2021 — said their districts were supportive of their identities, they want state law to support their use of pronouns and titles consistent with their gender identities. The third plaintiff, Schwandes, is demanding damages from the state after being fired.
“I lost my job, and maybe my career, because Florida lawmakers don’t want maturing young adults to know that I exist,” Schwandes said in a statement Wednesday.
“As a high school teacher, I should not have to pretend to be someone I’m not simply because I don’t ascribe to someone else’s rigid ideas of gender,” Schwandes added. “Tolerance is a two-way street. Just as I respect the faith-based beliefs of others, my civil rights need to be respected because I am an American, and I do exist.”
