Florida Teacher Fired For Using Student’s Preferred Name Behind Parents’ Backs

A Florida teacher has been fired for using a student’s preferred name without the consent of the student’s parents.

Melissa Calhoun, a teacher at Satellite High School near Cape Canaveral, will not have her contract renewed for next school year after she called a student by a preferred name without getting a form signed by the parents, the district said.

Calhoun is thought to be the first teacher fired over Florida’s new law requiring teachers to obtain parental consent before referring to students by a different name than their legal one. This is the second school year the law has been in effect.

The student’s parent reportedly alerted Brevard Public Schools that Calhoun was calling the student by a different name.

Members of the community said this case was related to the student’s transgender-identifying identity.

“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.

“At BPS our focus is on education — teachers are here to teach and support students academically,” Murnaghan said. “Our job is to work in partnership with parents and guardians to ensure student success.”

Calhoun allegedly said she “knowingly did not comply with state statute.”

The district issued her a letter of reprimand and ultimately decided not to renew her contract for the fall because the state would be reviewing her teaching credentials since she had violated state law. Calhoun will finish out the school year, and then her contract expires in May.

The situation has sparked a strong response in the community, with some community members protesting the teacher’s firing at a school board meeting on Tuesday.

Calhoun has worked for the district for over a decade, since 2013, and she taught AP Literature, her LinkedIn indicated.

The federal government has taken a similar stand to Florida on gender ideology in public schools.

Shortly after he took office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order threatening to pull federal funding from public school districts that promote gender ideology.

Gender ideology became a hot button issue during the presidential election last year. Parents across the country sounded the alarm on children going by different names and pronouns in school behind families’ backs, supported by teachers and school staff.

A 2023 poll showed that 71% of voters supported schools being legally required to inform parents when a student wants to change their gender identity.