A Florida teacher has accused their former employer of violating their civil rights after they were fired for using the gender-neutral honorific “Mx” in their email signature instead of “Ms.” or “Mr.” — flies in the face of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Av Vary, who teaches physics at the Florida Virtual School, an online public high school, until October 24, said their pronouns and gender identity have nothing to do with their ability to be a good teacher.
“They’re so far from a relationship,” Vary told NBC News on Friday. “Getting fired for this, it’s absolute rubbish.”
Vary filed a complaint Wednesday with the Florida Human Relations Commission and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that the school discriminated against them based on their gender identity and violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, NBC News reported.
In response, Florida Virtual Schools said they are “obliged to comply with Florida laws and regulations related to public education” including laws “relating to the use of Personal Titles and Pronouns in the Florida public school system.”
Physics teacher Av Vary was fired from Florida Virtual School because they used their pronouns in their email signatures. Boston Globe via Getty Images
Vary said they started using “Mx.” at the start of the school year to show students they are allies based on a new state law restricting LGBTQ topics in schools, before finally coming out as non-binary at the end of the school year.
Controversial legislation introduced by DeSantis in March 2022 bars classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity through eighth grade. It also restricts health education for students in grades six through 12 and prohibits school employees from sharing their pronouns or titles with students if they don’t align with their birth gender.
“When this law came out, it was important for me to signal to my marginalized students that I’m still a safe place, I’m still a safe adult to talk to,” Vary told NBC. “Because I’m not allowed to talk to them about it, but I need them to know that if they need someone to talk to, I’m a safe person to talk to.”
Vary, who was previously addressed by students as “Ma’am.” and the “Professor” says they know how to use “Mx.” can get them into trouble. AFP via Getty Images
Vary, who said students previously addressed them as “Ma’am.” and “Professor,” knows how to use “Mx.” can get them into potential legal issues even before realizing they are also non-binary.
“When I switched to ‘Mx.,’ my existing students knew because of the way my email signature and the way my home page displayed my title and the way I signed my text messages,” Vary said.
Students didn’t care about Vary’s new identity, and at first, neither did Principal KJ Anderson, Vary said.
Vary said their new email signature was acceptable to Anderson until Aug. 28, when he wrote in an email that staff email signatures should display names and no courtesy titles. The principal also said Vary’s teacher announcement pages and outward-facing communications require “standard courtesy titles” such as “Ma’am.” “Miss.” or “Mr.” or just their names.
Vary were then asked to change their titles at the end of the day on August 30, which they did not do.
After returning to school, Vary met with Anderson on Sept. 13 and said they were uncomfortable using gender courtesy titles but would use alternative gender-neutral titles such as “coach,” “teacher” or “professor.”
Vary said their firing violated their civil rights. Getty Images
During a meeting a few days later with Anderson and human resources, Vary was told they needed to change their courtesy titles to comply with Florida law that prohibits teachers from sharing their pronouns and titles with students if they don’t match their birth gender, according to instructions from the meeting which was acquired by NBC.
When they refused to change their titles, they were suspended on September 15. Vary was terminated on October 24th as they would not change titles.
Vary said they filed the EEOC complaint because their right to use a gender title that matches their gender identity is a civil rights issue.
Vary, who said they didn’t explain their new title “Mx” to their students, said students didn’t have any problems with the change.
“There’s all this concern that teachers are going to indoctrinate students into gangs,” Vary told NBC. “I told you, we don’t have time. If there’s extra time, we’ll follow up on students’ lives, make sure they’re OK, make sure their needs are met. Have they eaten in the last 24 hours? Do they have a safe place to lay their heads at night?” they continue.
“Nothing in the world could convince me to bring my personal life into the classroom. I just don’t do it. I don’t have the time and I don’t have the desire.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
