A non-binary Florida teacher who was fired for using an Mx honorific at school has filed an unlawful discrimination lawsuit against his employer as the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law is in an appeals court.
AV Vary, a science teacher at Florida Virtual School, was fired on October 24 after refusing to change the courtesy title used on school materials and communications from “Mx.” to ‘ma’am’, ‘ma’am’ or ‘ma’am.’
The school said the chosen “gender neutral” title violated part of a Florida law signed in May, an extension of what’s called the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Vary, who has worked as a teacher for 15 years and uses the pronouns “they/them,” recently switched from Ms. to the title “Mx.”
‘I first talked to my director about it, I let him know that I was doing it. And he didn’t say anything at first, and then about a month later he told me I had to change it,” Vary said. WMNF.
A non-binary Florida teacher who was fired for using an Mx honorific at school has filed an unlawful discrimination lawsuit against his employer — as the state’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law is in an appeals court
The school said the chosen “gender neutral” title violated part of a Florida law signed in May, an expansion of what’s called the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
In July 2023, a state law went into effect in Florida banning public school teachers from using pronouns that do not correspond to gender assigned at birth.
“I was told the professor was not okay, Dr. wasn’t okay for me because I don’t have a Ph.D. had, but there are many people at FLVS who did have Dr. practices, which also happened to be in violation of the same law for which I was punished.’
Vary refused to be called ‘Missus’, and after a back-and-forth argument involving human resources, they were eventually fired.
AV Vary is not their full legal name, but they have requested to be referred to as such due to ‘privacy concerns’.
Florida Virtual School is a statewide online public school for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
“As a public school in Florida, FLVS is required to follow Florida laws and regulations regarding public education. This includes laws such as Section 1000.071(3) of the Florida Statutes that address the use of personal titles and pronouns within the Florida public school system,” the school statement said.
Vary has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on the matter and is seeking legal advice.
They said USA TODAY that their struggle is not just for them, but for their students.
‘I’m human… I have feelings and my goals in life are positive. I want my students to be successful in how they define success,” Vary told USA TODAY.
‘Yes, this is a fight for my rights. But this is also a fight for kindness, compassion and respect for every individual in the country.”
Vary, who has worked as a teacher for 15 years and uses the pronouns “they/them,” recently switched from Ms. to the title “Mx.”
In July 2023, a state law went into effect in Florida that prohibits public school teachers from using pronouns that do not correspond to gender assigned at birth.
This is happening amid a major teacher shortage crisis, as schools have 55,000 vacancies and 270,000 people teaching without proper certifications.
Researchers warned in August that America’s teacher shortage is dire and getting worse.
This time last year, executives in the U.S. had about 36,000 positions to fill, say experts at Kansas State University.
That’s up 53 percent to about 55,000 for the school year that’s just starting.
Even worse is the number of classes led by teachers without a college degree or other credential.
Principals across the U.S. have turned to unqualified or underqualified teachers to fill the void.
The number of teachers without proper qualifications also reaches across America.
Alaska, Nevada, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware have among the highest percentages of substitutes stepping in.
Ron DeSantis has drawn national attention for banning books from Florida schools that contain references to sex
The number of substitute teachers stepping in without the proper qualifications can be an even greater concern for parents
Researchers counted approximately 55,289 teacher vacancies in the United States with available data
Florida leads the nation in the number of homeschooled children, while Governor Ron DeSantis implements the “Don’t Say Gay” law, bans books and bans African-American history courses.
Florida has the most homeschooled children in the U.S., while more than 10,000 students are homeschooled in Tampa alone.
Homeschooling has boomed across America, making it the fastest-growing form of education, according to data collected by the Washington Post.
Nine of the 10 school districts with the most homeschooled children were in Florida.
In Hillsborough County, 10,680 children were homeschooled at the start of the 2022-2023 school year, a 74 percent increase since 2017.
Researchers argue that this may be due to large school districts and politicized restrictions on public schools.
DeSantis has drawn national attention for banning books from Florida schools that contain references to sex.
The Republican governor’s Parental Rights in Education law makes it easier for parents and teachers to challenge the contents of a book, meaning they can be removed from shelves and reviewed by the school district within five days.
There are now between 1.9 million and 2.7 million homeschooled children in the United States, The Washington Post estimates
Homeschooling has boomed across America, making it the fastest growing form of education
Republican decision makers have claimed that they passed this law to ensure that pornography and books depicting sexual activity are hidden from children.
But critics argue that many books are unfairly dismissed or limited to certain age groups, such as Shakespeare’s timeless classics.
According to PEN America, school officials in 37 states attempted to restrict at least 874 individual book titles during the first half of the 2022-2023 school year.
DeSantis also faced backlash for his “Don’t Say Gay” law passed last year, which gave the state the power to restrict LGBTQ content.
The law requires teachers to remove books deemed inappropriate for children by conservative parents and school boards.
Critics see the law as part of an effort to limit discussion of difficult questions surrounding race and sexuality in public schools.