A Florida teacher accused his former employer of violating his civil rights after he was fired for using the gender-neutral honorific “Mx” in his email signature instead of “Mrs.” or “Mr.” – against Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Av Vary, who taught physics at Florida Virtual School, a public online high school, until Oct. 24, says his pronouns and gender identity have nothing to do with his ability to be a good teacher.
“They are far from related,” Vary told NBC News on Friday. “Getting fired for this is 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 School said they are “required to follow Florida laws and regulations relating to public education,” including laws “relating to the use of titles and personal pronouns within the Florida public school system.” .
Physics teacher Av Vary was fired from Florida Virtual School because he used his pronouns in his email signature. Boston Globe via Getty Images
Vary said they started using “Mx.” at the beginning of the school year to show students that they were an ally in light of new state legislation banning LGBTQ topics in schools, before finally coming out as nonbinary later in the school year.
Controversial legislation introduced by DeSantis in March 2022 prohibits in-person instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity through eighth grade. It also restricts health education to students in grades six through 12 and prohibits school employees from sharing their pronouns or titles with students if they do not match their birth sex.
“When this legislation came out, it was important for me to signal to my marginalized students that it was still a safe place, it was still a safe adult to talk to,” Vary told NBC. “Because they wouldn’t let me talk to them about it, but I needed them to know that if they needed someone to confide in, I was a safe person to talk to.”
Vary, whom students had previously addressed as “Mrs.” and “Professor” says that they knew how to use “Mx”. It could cause them problems. AFP via Getty Images
Vary, who says the students had previously addressed them as “Mrs. and “Professor”, he knew how to use “Mx”. he could get them into potential legal trouble before even realizing they weren’t binary either.
“When I switched to ‘Mx.,’ my existing students knew by the way my email signature was and the way my home page showed my title and the way I signed my text messages,” he said Vary.
The students were unfazed by Vary’s new identity, and at first neither was principal KJ Anderson, Vary said.
Vary said his new email signature was acceptable to Anderson until Aug. 28, when he wrote in an email that staff email signatures should show a name and no courtesy title. The principal also said that Vary’s teacher announcement page and outside communication required a “standard courtesy title” such as “Mrs.” “EM.” or “Mr.” or simply her name.
Vary was then asked to change their title at the end of the day on August 30, which they did not do.
After returning to school, Vary met with Anderson on September 13 and told him that they were not comfortable using a gender courtesy title, but would use a neutral alternative such as “coach,” “teacher,” or “professor.” .
Vary says his firing violates his civil rights. fake images
During a meeting days later with Anderson and human resources, Vary was told they had to change their courtesy title to comply with Florida law that prohibits teachers from sharing their pronouns and titles with students if they do not correspond to their gender. birth, according to a directive from the meeting obtained by NBC.
When they refused to change their title, they were suspended on September 15. Vary was fired on October 24 because they did not want to change the title.
Vary said they filed the complaint with the EEOC because their right to use gender titles that correspond to their gender identity is a civil rights issue.
Vary, who says they didn’t even explain their new title of “Mx” to their students, says the students haven’t had any problems with the change.
“There’s all this concern that teachers are going to indoctrinate students into some secret society,” Vary told NBC. “I’m telling you, we don’t have time. If there is extra time, we keep track of students’ lives, making sure they are doing well and their needs are being met. Have you eaten in the last 24 hours? Do they have a safe place to rest at night? they continued.
“There is nothing in the world that can convince me to bring my personal life into the classroom. I just don’t do it. “I don’t have time and I don’t have the desire.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn