ORLANDO, Fla. – The Florida Board of Education will determine on Wednesday whether a Brevard County teacher who lost her job over her use of a student’s preferred name will be able to keep her teaching certificate.
Melissa Calhoun taught AP English at Satellite High School. Her ouster stems from a parent’s complaint and a Florida law passed in 2023, the latter of which states written parental consent is needed for teachers to call students by any alternative to their legal name.
It’s the first known case of a teacher losing their job because of the law, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
The 128-page investigation file states Satellite High School Principal Courtney Lundy was contacted by Brevard Public Schools Board Vice Chair Matt Susin in March to discuss the matter.
Lundy was told that during a then-recent argument between the student and the parent — allegedly involving the student’s desire to transition from female to male — the student said that their teachers referred to them by their preferred male name, prompting the parent to express her concern that Satellite High School was “influencing and grooming her daughter to transition and to be gay,” the file states.
The parent went on to ask whether the student was part of a Genders & Sexualities Alliances club at the school — which they were not, as the club had in fact been canceled due to lack of involvement — and requested to see all emails exchanged between former Brevard Public Schools Board Member Jennifer Jenkins and any teachers from Satellite High School, “suspecting” Jenkins was somehow involved, the file states.
Calhoun, who received positive evaluations throughout her tenure in Brevard County, said she had been calling the student by their preferred name before the change in state statute, the files show.
She told Lundy in subsequent meetings about the complaint that she was shocked to learn what the situation was about, stating she had no “malicious” or “political” intent in continuing to use the student’s chosen name despite being cognizant that the law had changed, according to the documents. Shortly after her meetings with Lundy, Calhoun reportedly informed the student that she could no longer call anyone anything other than their legal name.
While Brevard Public Schools’ investigation resulted in a determination that Calhoun be sent a letter of reprimand, it did not include a recommendation that she be ousted.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Rendell, on April 1, sent Calhoun the letter of reprimand and informed her that her contract would not be renewed. It was then reported to the state on April 11 that Calhoun was the subject of an investigation, the files show.
[Florida teacher loses job for calling student by ‘preferred’ name]
A district spokesperson told News 6 in a statement that the decision not to renew Calhoun’s contract was not disciplinary. The reprimand, according to the spokesperson, was the only form of discipline.
The decision was made by Dr. Rendell based on uncertainty surrounding the state’s response to the incident. We do not have any historical data to guide us on a FLDOE response to this violation. We do not want to start the 2025-2026 school year with a teacher whose license may be revoked by the state, leaving us without a teacher midyear. Ms. Calhoun is welcome to apply to work at the district when the issue is resolved with the state.
Brevard Public Schools spokesperson in May, 2025
What followed were demonstrations organized by students and community members in protest of Calhoun’s ouster.
We heard from Kylee Rassman, who compared the district’s handling of Calhoun’s situation to that of a Viera High School teacher who was arrested and accused of domestic violence.
“I came here because recently, there was a teacher who was arrested for battery, strangulation, and he was let go on administrative leave, so he’s still being paid, and I personally believe that that is a lot worse than referring to somebody by how they wanna be referred to as and respecting somebody’s identity,” she said.
[WATCH: Protests grow for Florida teacher who lost job after using student’s ‘preferred’ name]
News 6’s James Sparvero caught up with Susin to ask about the cases.
“The bottom line is that we had a situation where the teacher admitted to breaking the law. We have to follow the law.” Susin told Sparvero, otherwise calling Calhoun a good teacher with good scores.
Within the school board itself, all board members stood with Dr. Rendell, except John Thomas, who tried to get the rest of the board to reconsider.
“I think she made a mistake,” Thomas said. “She acknowledged that mistake, and I think it’s something that she can recover from.”
[Brevard school board member calls for reinstating teacher losing job over student’s ‘preferred’ name]
Brevard Public Schools has since voiced an intent to review its policies to ensure it doesn’t run afoul of state law.
[MORE: Brevard school board to take up parental consent policy after nickname scandal]
Even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has weighed in, telling News 6’s Laverne McGee that teachers should focus on teaching and “most parents do not want to send their kid to elementary school and have them be taught things like ‘transgender’ and ‘gender fluidity.’”
Wednesday’s hearing is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. in Orlando, records show.
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