A firestorm over a local teacher using a student’s preferred name ended with the teacher’s contract not renewed, and now Brevard Public Schools is reviewing its policies to ensure it doesn’t run afoul of state law.

‘I’ve noticed this past year, teachers have been a lot more nervous whenever they’re teaching,’ said Ryan Matrigali, 17, a Florida high-schooler. He recently spoke up at a school board meeting in support of former AP English teacher Melissa Calhoun, who was let go after using a student’s preferred pronouns. ‘With all of the rules and the school board cracking down, they’re not allowed to be as open with topics.’

For the fifth time in a little over two months, community members have asked Brevard’s school board to reinstate a high school teacher who was ousted after using a 17-year-old’s chosen name without parental permission — once more to no avail.

More than two months after a Satellite High teacher’s contract wasn’t renewed following her use of a student’s chosen name without parental permission, community members gathered to speak once more in her support at a Brevard school board meeting.

In April, we saw Brevard Public Schools fire AP Satellite High School teacher Melissa Calhoun for using an affirming name for a 17-year-old trans student, the name by which they had been known since middle school. Now, as reported from records obtained by Finch Walker of Florida Today, we see that BPS is contemplating ways to punish students themselves for using their own preferred/nicknames on written class assignments.

The next School Board meeting is Tuesday, June 10th at 9:30am. We will meet, rally and strategize beforehand: a Virtual Strategy Session on Thursday June 5th at 7pm, and an In-Person Session on Monday June 9th at 4pm

A Brevard student writes a name on top of an assignment that is not the one their parents gave them at birth — a nickname, or a name chosen based on a transgender identity. Their parents haven’t signed a permission form saying educators may call them that, and their teachers use the student’s legal name. What, if anything, happens next to the student?

A Florida teacher has lost her job for referring to a 17-year-old transgender high school student by his preferred name, following an investigation prompted by the student’s parent, who accused the school of “grooming” her child.

An investigation by a Florida school into charges that a teacher “groomed” a student “to transition and to be gay” resulted in the school district ending her contract, despite a recommendation to only reprimand her.

Controversy continues within Brevard Public Schools as parents, students, both current and former, as well as current teachers take their fight for the third time to the school board. It’s over a teacher who won’t be teaching in the district next year.