School Fires Teacher Over Mx.

The Florida Virtual School gave a veteran teacher a choice of courtesy titles to use in its materials and communications: Ms., Mrs., or Miss. Instead, the teacher used Mx, and was fired on Oct. 24, told that was a violation of a new state law. "Obviously, I'm not OK with that," said AV Vary, who recently identified as non-binary rather than female, the Orlando Sentinel reports. "I think it's a direct result of my gender identity." On Wednesday, Vary filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming discrimination under the Civil Rights Act.

The law the school was referring to is the Parental Rights in Education Act, also called the "Don't Say Gay" law, that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last year. In May, the provision barring teachers from the use of pronouns with students that don't align with birth sex was added, per NBC News. DeSantis said the law would ensure students aren't "forced to use pronouns not based on biological sex." Vary, who uses they/them, said the principal initially accepted the use of Mx. but later backtracked. The statewide, online school told USA Today that it's obligated to follow Florida laws and rules, including those governing "the use of Personal Titles and Pronouns." Vary said: "There's all this worry that teachers are going to indoctrinate students into some secret society. I'm telling you, we do not have time." (More Florida stories.)