A Florida teacher lost her job after she helped a student “transition” unbeknownst to their parents.
According to the New York Post, she is the first known teacher to be fired over a state law implemented last year protecting parents’ rights in education.
Melissa Calhoun was a teacher at Satellite High School in Brevard County. Reportedly, she learned that her contract would not be renewed because she referred to a student by a “chosen name” without getting permission to do so from the student’s parents.
Brevard Public Schools “supports parents’ rights to be the primary decision-makers in their children’s lives, and Florida law affirms their right to be informed,” district spokesperson Janet Murnaghan told The Post in a statement.
Melissa Calhoun, a teacher at @BrevardSchools in FL, was fired from her teaching position after allegedly attempting to socially transition a child behind parents' backs by using “preferred names”, violating Florida law.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 11, 2025
Any teacher who tries to circumvent parental rights with… pic.twitter.com/1ezTM3ncEc
“The teacher is working under a ten-month contract that expires in May 2025,” Murnaghan’s statement added. “Since the state will be reviewing her teaching certificate based on these actions, the district decided not to renew the annual contract until the issue is resolved with the state.”
Reportedly, the student’s parents notified the school district that Calhoun was referring to their child by a different name. The school district then started an investigation.
Calhoun reportedly admitted that she “knowingly did not comply with the state statute.”
Of course, woke leftists protested the teacher getting fired.
“The teacher made a difference in her classroom and in the lives of our students, including my own child. She deserved more than a quiet exit. She deserved fairness, context, and compassion,” one mother and school employee Kristine Staniec said at a meeting about the situation.
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