After more than a decade working for a school district, a ‘cherished’ teacher has been sacked following a complaint that she had been illegally referring to her student by a name that was not on the register. For the last 11 years, Melissa Calhoun had been employed by Brevard Public Schools (BPS), in Brevard County, Florida, but after defying a state law that says teachers must refer to their pupils by their legal name, the school board has decided against renewing her contract. She has received the axe after one of her students asked that she refer to them by a name that was not on their birth certificate, which is commonly requested by those going through gender transition but can also be a nickname, with the bill having been passed in 2023 stating that parents must give written permission to allow for the name change. Calhoun was employed at Satellite High School, in Satellite Beach – located an hour-drive southeast of Orlando, under a 10-month contract that was up for review in May. A petition has since been launched that has been signed by more than 18,000 people, including parents of her former students. “Ms. Calhoun, a cherished teacher will lose her teaching position in Brevard County. A dedicated educator and respected member of the community where she grew up and now greatly contributes, Ms. Calhoun is being punished merely for showing respect to a student’s choices,” it wrote.
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