Hi Stuckies, I need your help with a Florida problem. At the end of this post, I am going to ask you to sign a petition. But first, let me explain why! If you have read my fic Operation: Gros Michel, you may remember a scene where a teacher gets fired for mentioning a same-sex partner, which is a violation of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" laws. The students then organize a protest, and Steve and Bucky show up to help them out.
Something very similar just happened for real, in my home town--and ironically, it happened in the town and at the exact school where the fic takes place. When I wrote that fic, I was thinking a lot about the harm that was likely to come from all of the new homophobic, fascist laws that have been passed to restrict queer identity in Floridian classrooms. I am sad and angry--but also not surprised--that something very, very similar to what I wrote about in that fic has now happened in real life.
(Kind of ironic that it happened at the high school from the fic, of all places, though.)
Last week, a teacher at Satellite High School, my alma mater, was fired for using a student's preferred name and pronouns in the classroom. This is illegal in Florida without permission from parents. The exact details have not been reported, but word on the street is that this student is a young trans kid, whose parents are not supportive. Having a validating and supportive teacher must have felt like such a life raft to that kid, and it hurts my heart to think this student and the teacher are now being punished for it. The teacher was fired after the parents complained, because under Florida law, teachers are not allowed to show that kind of respect or basic decency to their students. The "Don't Say Gay" law from 2023 specifically bars teachers from using anything other than a student's 'birth name', unless they get a permission slip signed by the parents. If you think that through, it's blatantly ridiculous and I would be willing to bet the law is broken in every Floridian classroom, every day. Every time a teacher calls a kid "Mike" instead of "Michael", or "Jess" instead of "Jessica", they are breaking the law. But no one gets punished for that, because, obviously, this was written to target trans students and the teachers who support them.
Yes, this teacher broke the law. But this is a deeply unjust, targeted, and immoral law--and it should be broken. This teacher looked that unjust law in the face, and she stood up to it--with kindness and respect for her student. She stood up.
So I am asking for your help.
There is a petition to have her contract reinstated. I believe this petition was started by students at the school. And just like in the fic I wrote? The kids are organizing. This community leans pretty red and there is a lot of homophobia, so for these kids to come out and protest is particularly brave. Lots of people have been speaking at local school board meetings, including a lot of students. There was a community protest in support of this teacher, with students and their parents. And--just like in the fic--the students have planned a school walk-out. But unlike in the fic, they won't have Steve and Bucky to back them up. I am hoping some of you might be willing to send some of that Captain America energy to this cause.
Here is the petition. It would mean so much to me if you would sign it, and share this around. The more people who know about this, the better. And here are a few local news articles if you want to learn more about what's going on.