Ruskin teacher sues to block Florida law restricting pronoun use in schools

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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Ruskin high school teacher is one of three Florida educators challenging a state law requiring them to use pronouns and titles that match their sex assigned at birth.

The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of three transgender and nonbinary teachers and seeks an injunction to prevent the state from enforcing that portion of the statute.

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The bill breezed through the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature earlier this year as an expansion of what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Proponents of HB-1069, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said it aims to shield children from “woke indoctrination” in schools.

In a statement, the Southern Poverty Law Center described Subsection 3 of the statute as “an anti-LGBTQ+ statute that targets Florida’s transgender and nonbinary teachers for being themselves at work.” The organization believes that because teachers face losing their jobs or teaching credentials, the statute “clearly and unlawfully discriminates based on sex and restrains their speech, in violation of the U.S. Constitution and civil rights statutes.”

According to the complaint, one plaintiff in the suit teaches at Lennard High School in Ruskin. After transitioning, Wood was told she could not use “Ms.” as her title. Instead, administrators told her the students must refer to her as “Teacher Wood,” a title Wood claims is “stigmatizing.”

The complaint alleges Subsection 3 and its looming penalties causes her “great anxiety and distracts her during work.” The Hillsborough County School Board, which was named as a defendant in the suit, utilizes policy that prevents Wood from correcting “anyone who misgenders her at work,” according to the complaint.

In a statement, Katie Wood accused lawmakers of “weaponizing their disagreements” with educators’ Constitutionally-protected speech.

“I am a transgender teacher, but I am a human being first. As a human being living in America, I demand to be treated with fairness and equity at work,” Wood said in a statement. “Those who support and enforce this law are trying to take my voice away and bury my existence. But they will not. I can help hold Florida lawmakers accountable in a court of law. I will not be swept under the rug, I will not be silenced, and I will not budge for my Constitutional rights.”

The other two plaintiffs in the lawsuit are a transgender Lee County teacher, identified only as Jane Doe, and AV Schwandes, a nonbinary former Florida Virtual School teacher.

According to the complaint, Schwandes was fired in 2021 over their use of the title “Mx.” and “they/them” pronouns. Attorneys allege the school “did not permit Mx. Schwandes to use non-gendered titles like Professor, Doctor, or Teacher.”

“I lost my job, and maybe my career, because Florida lawmakers don’t want maturing young adults to know that I exist. As a high school teacher, I should not have to pretend to be someone I’m not simply because I don’t ascribe to someone else’s rigid ideas of gender,” Schwandes wrote in a statement. “Tolerance is a two-way street. Just as I respect the faith-based beliefs of others, my civil rights need to be respected because I am an American, and I do exist.”

In addition to the federal lawsuit, the teachers have also filed employment discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.

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