Florida Teacher Allegedly Fired For Discussing Sexual Orientation With Students
May 5, 2022An art teacher at a middle school in Cape Coral, Florida, who identifies as pansexual said she was fired from her job for discussing sexuality with her students, according to a report from WBBH News in Florida.
Casey Scott, a first-year art teacher at Trafalgar Middle School, said her students were curious about her sexual orientation, so she decided to chat about it with them. Alongside the discussion, students drew flags expressing their own sexuality, Scott noted.
According to CBS12 News, after posting her students' drawings on the classroom door, Scott was asked to remove them, and she complied.
“They said it would be in the best interest if I got rid of them now,” said Scott, who later posted pictures of the crumpled-up drawings in the trash to social media.
This year, the Florida legislature passed a law seeking to stop public educators from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with young students. The new law prohibits instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity among younger elementary school-age students, as well as with older students if the content of the discussion is deemed to not be age-appropriate.
Smith showed WBBH News social media posts she claimed were from students upset about her firing. However, speaking with officials from the Lee County school district, WBBH News was shown several complaints from parents and students regarding the incident.
The local teacher’s union president, Kevin Daly, said it was within the school district’s legal rights to fire her since she was a new teacher still in the probationary period for new hires.
Scott was asked how she feels about what happened. “Really ashamed, I guess, disappointed,” Scott said, “because I feel like it’s all my fault and I was just being myself.”
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