Chainkeen Exchange-Nonbinary teacher at Florida school fired for using 'Mx.' as courtesy title

AV Vary became a teacher to help teenagers through the painful experience of growing up and Chainkeen Exchangeto teach some science along the way.

Over the course of 15 years, Vary has taught in the Orlando area and in Maryland. Most recently, Vary taught at the Florida Virtual School, a statewide online public school for kindergarten through 12th grade students.

But on Oct. 24, Vary was terminated from FVLS after refusing to change the courtesy title used on school materials and communications from "Mx." to "Ms.," "Mrs." or "Miss."

Vary is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. AV Vary is not their full legal name, but they requested to only be referred to as such out of concern for their privacy.

FLVS issued a statement in response to USA TODAY's request for an interview about Vary's termination.

“As a Florida public school, FLVS is obligated to follow Florida laws and regulations pertaining to public education. This includes laws such as section 1000.071(3) of the Florida Statutes pertaining to the use of Personal Titles and Pronouns within Florida’s public school system," the statement read.

Vary's termination came as a lawsuit challenging Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law sits in an appeals court and districts struggle to fill vacant teaching positions.

Vary told USA TODAY in an interview that they have filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over the matter and are seeking legal counsel. They said their fight to get back into the classroom is not just for them, but for the students too.

"I am a human being... I have feelings and my goals in life are positive ones. I want to see my students be successful in however they define success," Vary said. "Yeah, this is a fight for my rights. But this is also a fight for the kindness, compassion and respect for every individual in the country."

Florida statute requires teachers to use titles and pronouns corresponding to biological sex

More:Florida Board of Education votes on guidelines on bathrooms, pronouns

Documentation reviewed by USA TODAY showed that leadership at FVLS asked Vary to change their courtesy title from Mx. to Ms., Mrs., or Miss in accordance with Florida Statue 1000.071.

The statute states that every public K-12 educational institute must operate under the understanding that a person's sex is biological and unchangeable. As such, employees may not provide pronouns that do not align with their biological sex.

The law went into effect in July 2023 after Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB1069, which is considered an expansion of the 2022 "Don't Say Gay" bill. A lawsuit on behalf of Family Equality and Florida families challenging the 2022 bill went to an appeals court in March 2023 after a Florida judge dismissed the original suits for not showing direct harm from the bill.

Vary said that, before termination, they offered other gender-neutral suggestions for courtesy titles.

While Vary does not hold a PhD., "Dr." is a gender-neutral title that other teachers and administrators in Florida schools use. But Vary said FLVS wouldn't allow Vary to use it on the grounds that they did not hold a PhD. The school said Vary could go without a courtesy title, but they were not comfortable that.

Vary also recommended "professor," "teacher" and "coach" as alternatives. The school did not permit those either.

"Clearly, to me FLVS is not simply concerned with following the law. There's something more to it," they said.

Vary said being visibly nonbinary was a safety signal for Florida students

Vary's students have known them as Mrs. Vary, Professor Vary or Mx. Vary, depending on when they worked together.

When Vary started at FLVS in July 2021, they felt that "misunderstood female" was the best way to describe their gender. They have also truncated their legal name for students, as a way to protect their boundaries as a teacher. But over time, Vary learned more about what it means to be nonbinary and it resonated with them, as they don't identify entirely with women's or men's social norms.

Vary also said there was more to their decision to use Mx. than reflecting their own identity. In the face of anti-LGBTQ laws being passed in Florida, Vary wanted to signal to students that they were an ally.

"I needed a way for my students' first impressions of me to be that I was safe, because underrepresented minority communities need people who can protect them, especially when they're teenagers," Vary said.

Vary worried for colleagues amid teacher shortage

Vary said they have never lost a job before FLVS. They got into science in part because the teachers are in such high demand. They have a partner with a good salary that can help cushion the job loss as they try to get reinstated.

But in the meantime, Vary worries for colleagues.

"When I got the voicemail that I was suspended, my first thought was, 'Oh, my colleagues, they're now going to have way more students than they should. They're gonna have to put in more hours than they're getting paid for,'" Vary said. "Teacher overwork all over again."

Public schools around the country have struggled to hire teachers, with science being a subject area that has been difficult to staff. In Florida, general science and physical science constituted two of the eight areas with "high demand teacher needs" for the 2023-2024 schoolyear.

Vary said that science classes at FLVS were already waitlisted when they were terminated.

More:Substitute teachers in Florida no longer need college in most counties to combat shortage

Lawyers told Vary the case is 'too big'

Vary said they felt that school leaders tried to remain neutral in the weeks leading up to their termination. But their final call became heated and Vary said the school hung up on them.

"I recognize that FLVS is in a tough position. They have to uphold Florida State law. At the same time, they're committed to upholding the U.S. Constitution," Vary said. "Right now, those two things are mutually exclusive."

Vary's complaint to the EEOC alleges that the school discriminated against them because of their sex and gender identity.

They have contacted some lawyers who said that the case may have some merit, but would be too big or too expensive to take on. Vary is exploring advocacy groups as well, or possibly joining with other people who have experienced the same thing.

"It would be unrealistic to expect any individual to cover this on their own," Vary said. "But with a community of like minded individuals who believe in civil rights, I think that we can take it as far as it needs to go."

More:DeSantis to expand so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law to Florida high schools

Contributing: Brandon Girod, Pensacola News Journal; Finch Walker, Florida Today; Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY