School district officials on Florida's Space Coast aren't renewing the contract of a teacher who used a student's chosen name without getting permission from the student's parents in violation of Florida law.
Dozens of students and parents showed up in support of teacher Melissa Calhoun at a Brevard Public Schools board meeting Tuesday night, demanding that her contract as an English teacher at Satellite High School be renewed. The 17-year-old student chose the preferred name to reflect the student's gender identity and the teacher only was acting out of compassion, according to the supporters.
Calhoun knowingly defied the law signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023 which requires parental consent to use an alternative to a student's legal name, according to Janet Murnaghan, a spokeswoman for the Brevard Public Schools.
Schools superintendent Mark Rendell told television station WKMG that parental input can't be ignored.
"The parent is our partner in this education endeavor that we have with our children," Rendell said. "This law was actually put in place to make sure that partnership was maintained."
“You know, it might just be time we take a look if HOAs are really even necessary.
Maybe we should just do away with homeowner associations as a whole.”
South Florida lawmaker Rep. Juan Carlos Porras (R-Miami) says it may be time to do away with homeowners associations altogether, as more Floridians speak out about rising fees, costly lawsuits, and even arrests tied to HOA disputes. He said this week that he is considering filing legislation in the next session that would abolish HOAs statewide.
