Florida teacher will lose job after apparently indulging student's gender delusion behind parent's back

A Florida teacher will soon be out of a job after she allegedly used a student's "preferred" name without parental consent.

Melissa Calhoun is an English teacher at Satellite High School in Satellite Beach near Cape Canaveral along the Atlantic Coast. According to her LinkedIn page, she has worked with Brevard Public Schools for nearly 12 years, seven of which have been spent at Satellite High.

However, her contract has not been renewed for the 2025-2026 school year after she allegedly violated a state law passed in 2023 barring teachers from calling students by any other name except their legal name without parent permission. The district became aware of the situation after receiving a complaint from the student's parent.

'BPS supports parents’ rights to be the primary decision-makers in their children’s lives.'

News reports have fixated on the fact that the law technically forbids teachers to use common nicknames such as Jon instead of Jonathan without parental consent. However, Blaze News confirmed with a BPS representative that Calhoun was using a name that did not correspond with the student's biological sex.

Additionally, during an investigation into the name issue, Calhoun admitted she "knowingly did not comply with state statute," Brevard Public Schools spokesperson Janet Murnaghan said, according to Florida Today. The district then issued her a letter of reprimand before ultimately deciding against renewing her contract.

"The state will be reviewing her teaching certificate based on these actions," said a statement from Murnaghan. "Teachers, like all employees, are expected to follow the law."

Calhoun is believed to be the first Florida teacher to lose a job over the preferred-name law.

So far, radical advocacy groups in the area are rallying behind Calhoun. The ACLU of Florida claimed she was just "being respectful," while Quinn Diaz of Equality Florida said she was just creating a "positive" learning environment.

"This dedicated teacher is being fired for recognizing a student in the same manner that we acknowledge our family, friends, and peers who use a nickname, their middle name, or a shortened name," Diaz added.

However, if the statements from BPS are any indication, the decision to discontinue Calhoun's employment was about respecting the law passed by democratically elected officials as well as the rights of parents.

"BPS supports parents’ rights to be the primary decision-makers in their children’s lives, and Florida law affirms their right to be informed," Murnaghan said.

Neither Calhoun nor the Brevard Federation of Teachers union responded to a request for comment from Florida Today.

H/T: Libs of TikTok

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