Teacher fired in Florida for violating incredibly stupid law.

[Morbius]

Link to story: https://www.yahoo.com/news/brevard-teacher-first-lose-job-090550555.html

At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, Florida began requiring educators to get parental permission before calling a student by an alternative to their legal name. Less than two years later, a teacher didn't comply — and lost her job.

Melissa Calhoun, a teacher at Satellite High School in Brevard County, will not have her contract renewed for the 2025-2026 school year after calling a student by a preferred name without getting a signed form, according to Brevard Public Schools Spokesperson Janet Murnaghan.



The law applies to any deviation from a student's legal name, whether that be a name used because of a student's transgender identity or a shortened form of a given name.

Community members believed this is a case related to the student's gender identity.

In other words, if a boy is named William, and a teacher calls him "Bill" without getting written parental consent in advance, that teacher can be fired. I recall a teacher in 8th grade calling me "problem child." I didn't like her much, but even then I'm pretty sure I would have thought firing her for that would be ridiculously petty.

Florida again, am I right?

[Deuxcents]

1. How did they know about her offense..did the kid report it? Should teachers just say "ok, you answer the question "

Just point and say “you”, I guess

[Morbius]

2. I'm pretty sure all it would take

is for any of the students in the class to mention it to their parents.

Florida Republicans have this bug up their collective ass about parental rights, to the complete exclusion of student's rights, teacher's rights, and common sense. They make me crazy.

[sakabatou]

3. And what if the kid didn't want their parents to know they wanted to be called something else?

Then what?

[Chasstev365]

4. Get Out of Florida!

She will finish the year and is still working hard to prepare the kids for the AP Test.

Blue States can use good teachers like this!

[rsdsharp]

5. Gee, Wally! How come Miss Landers doesn't call me Beaver anymore?

(God, I’m old!)

[Conjuay]

11. Thanks, I needed that.

[Igel]

6. I doubt hypocoristics are banned.

A lot of more traditional names have "clusters" of variants.

Robert. Rob. Robby. Bob. Bobby.

But you never know. The annual on-line data update that most districts (at least in my currently home state) require might add a line next to "allergies" or "in-class snacks permitted" that says "permissible variant names".

[Morbius]

7. New word for me

Thanks.

According to the story, hypocoristics are indeed banned unless approved by parents in writing in advance. For example, a girl named Samantha could be called "Sam" which might well offend parents who consider it a boy's name. The same for Alex/Alexandria.

[Irish_Dem]

12. Yes I would think they would ban opposite gender variant names.

Which is what the kids are doing.
Olivia becomes Ollie, Michellea becomes Mike, Theodore becomes Teddie, etc.

[John1956PA]

8. Yes, it is a questionable law/regulation. At the very least, it should require progressive discipline.

If a teacher addresses a child by a "wrong" name, the teacher should be called into the principal's office and warned that further infractions could result in non-renewal of the contract. If the teacher disregards the warning, that could be grounds for the non-renewal. I do not know if progressive discipline was involved in this case.

[Emile]

10. Republicans are crazy.