Transgender Educators Sue Florida Schools Over Pronoun Guidelines

Three Florida transgender teachers have filed a lawsuit against the state, challenging the pronoun rules that were introduced in state schools earlier this year. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, specifically targets a section from HB-1069, which was signed into law earlier this year. This section stipulates that employees or contractors of public K-12 educational institutions cannot use a student’s preferred personal title or pronouns if they do not correspond with the student’s sex.

According to state statutes, sex is considered an immutable biological trait, making it false to assign a pronoun to a person that does not align with their sex. Violation of these rules by teachers could result in disciplinary action, such as suspension or revocation of their educator certificate.

However, the lawsuit argues that these rules apply to any interaction teachers have with students, even outside of school hours. It also references the Supreme Court case “Bostock v. Clayton County,” which established that employers cannot intentionally treat employees worse based on factors like sex.

The lawsuit claims that Subsection 3 of HB-1069 infringes upon the rights of transgender and nonbinary teachers by prohibiting them from using titles and pronouns that align with their gender identity. It asserts that gender identity is an innate and internal sense of one’s sex, which everyone possesses. Additionally, it states that “misgendering” someone by using pronouns they do not identify with can cause psychological distress and feelings of stigma.

The lawsuit highlights the experiences of the three teachers involved, stating that they were forced to be misgendered due to the law, and one even had their employment terminated for refusing to comply. Consequently, the teachers are accusing the Florida Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and several district school boards of violating their civil rights, including free speech and discrimination protections.

In their legal action, the teachers are seeking compensatory damages and other forms of relief. The full lawsuit is available for review in the attached media viewer.

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