A Florida high school teacher lost her job after calling a student by an alternative name without parental permission, sparking community backlash in the conservative birthplace of Moms for Liberty as school officials sought to comply with state law.
It’s the first known dismissal resulting from the campaign to shut down recognition of alternative gender identities — a policy piloted by Florida that spread to other Republican states and now has been taken up by the Trump administration.
Melissa Calhoun had taught in Brevard County for 11 years when she ran headlong into a state rule that bars school staff from deviating from students’ legal names without written parental permission. The rule applies to students who choose an alternative name because of a change in gender identity, as well as those who might want to use a nickname. In this case, Calhoun was respecting the wishes of a student whose legal name is associated with girls, a person familiar with the situation said.
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One of the student’s parents complained to the school district, which investigated the matter. The teacher admitted to knowingly using an alternative name without permission, district spokeswoman Janet Murnaghan said in a statement. This “directly violates state law” and district procedures, she said. The teacher received a letter of reprimand and was told last week that her annual contract, which expires in May, was not renewed, though she will finish out this school year.
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The school district “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. “Teachers, like all employees, are expected to follow the law.”
Calhoun’s contract was not renewed because the state of Florida will be reviewing her teaching certificate based on this case, Murnaghan said, and the district will not bring her back until the issue is resolved with the state. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.
Calhoun, who has worked at Satellite High School since 2019, could not be reached for comment.
The action prompted a surge of student and parent activism on Calhoun’s behalf — a striking response in a county where one of the founders of Moms for Liberty, a national group on the front lines of the education culture wars, once served on the school board.
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More than 7,400 people signed a change.org petition calling for her to be reinstated. Students planned a walkout of classes on Thursday afternoon in support of the teacher. And while the matter was not on the agenda at the school board’s meeting this week, several members of the community spoke on her behalf during a public comment period.
“There was no harm, no threat to safety, no malicious intent. Just a teacher trying to connect with a student. And for that her contract was not renewed, despite her strong dedication and years of service,” Kristine Staniec, a media specialist at Satellite High School, told the board. She said her children were students of Calhoun’s.
It’s the first known dismissal resulting from the campaign to shut down recognition of alternative gender identities — a policy piloted by Florida that spread to other Republican states and now has been taken up by the Trump administration.
Melissa Calhoun had taught in Brevard County for 11 years when she ran headlong into a state rule that bars school staff from deviating from students’ legal names without written parental permission. The rule applies to students who choose an alternative name because of a change in gender identity, as well as those who might want to use a nickname. In this case, Calhoun was respecting the wishes of a student whose legal name is associated with girls, a person familiar with the situation said.
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One of the student’s parents complained to the school district, which investigated the matter. The teacher admitted to knowingly using an alternative name without permission, district spokeswoman Janet Murnaghan said in a statement. This “directly violates state law” and district procedures, she said. The teacher received a letter of reprimand and was told last week that her annual contract, which expires in May, was not renewed, though she will finish out this school year.
Follow Trump’s first 100 Days
The school district “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. “Teachers, like all employees, are expected to follow the law.”
Calhoun’s contract was not renewed because the state of Florida will be reviewing her teaching certificate based on this case, Murnaghan said, and the district will not bring her back until the issue is resolved with the state. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.
Calhoun, who has worked at Satellite High School since 2019, could not be reached for comment.
The action prompted a surge of student and parent activism on Calhoun’s behalf — a striking response in a county where one of the founders of Moms for Liberty, a national group on the front lines of the education culture wars, once served on the school board.
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More than 7,400 people signed a change.org petition calling for her to be reinstated. Students planned a walkout of classes on Thursday afternoon in support of the teacher. And while the matter was not on the agenda at the school board’s meeting this week, several members of the community spoke on her behalf during a public comment period.
“There was no harm, no threat to safety, no malicious intent. Just a teacher trying to connect with a student. And for that her contract was not renewed, despite her strong dedication and years of service,” Kristine Staniec, a media specialist at Satellite High School, told the board. She said her children were students of Calhoun’s.
