Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a temporary injunction this week, halting the enforcement of a Florida law barring transgender teachers from using pronouns that do not align with their biological sex in schools.
“Once again, the State of Florida has a First Amendment problem,” Judge Walker wrote in his injunction.
“Of late, it has happened so frequently, some might say you can set your clock by it,” he continued. “This time, the State of Florida declares that it has the absolute authority to redefine your identity if you choose to teach in a public school… the question before this Court is whether the First Amendment permits the State to dictate, without limitation, how public-school teachers refer to themselves when communicating to students. The answer is a thunderous ‘no.’”
Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, often characterized as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill by opponents, was challenged in December by two trans teachers and one “non-binary” teacher, but only one of them, “Katie” Wood, was awarded a temporary injunction by Judge Walker.
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