A federal judge on Friday heard arguments in a court battle over a law restricting educators’ use of personal pronouns and titles in schools, in one of a series of challenges to Florida policies targeting LGBTQ people.
Plaintiffs Katie Wood, a transgender Hillsborough County teacher, and AV Schwandes, a nonbinary teacher fired last year by Florida Virtual School, are seeking preliminary injunctions as part of a lawsuit challenging the 2023 law, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The challenge alleges the law violates the teachers’ First Amendment rights and runs afoul of a federal civil-rights law.
Attorneys for the Florida Department of Education and other defendants asked Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the Legislature has discretion to “promote the state’s pedagogical goals and vindicate parental rights.”
The case centers on part of the 2023 law that says a school employee “may not provide to a student his or her preferred personal title or pronouns if such preferred personal title or pronouns do not correspond to his or her sex.” The state defines sex as what was assigned at birth.
The law is intended to avoid confusion “about the immutable, biological nature of sex,” attorneys for the state argued in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
“Teachers providing to students biologically incongruous pronouns undermines the state’s policy regarding sex,” attorneys from the firm Consovoy McCarthy PLLC wrote in a brief filed March 11.
A preliminary injunction motion filed by Wood said she has been prevented from using the title “Ms.” and “she/her” pronouns.
Sam Boyd, an attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center who represents the plaintiffs, on Friday argued that it was “absurd” to maintain that a “law that requires a teacher who identifies as and presents as a woman to use male pronouns prevents confusion” or advances the state’s interests.
Pronouns and titles are integral components of a transgender person’s identity, Boyd said
“Their pronouns are probably the most central aspect of their transgender identity,” Boyd added. “To be a woman in our society is to be referred to as female.”
The “purpose and effect” of the law is to “discriminate against transgender and nonbinary people,” Diego Soto, also with the Southern Poverty Law Center, argued.
But Brian Weir, who represents the state, said the law was not intended to discriminate against anyone.
“Sex, like race and national origin, is an immutable characteristic determined solely by accident of birth,” Weir said, quoting from previous court rulings.
Arguing against the preliminary injunction, Weir said the plaintiffs haven’t demonstrated “irreparable harm” from the law. He also pointed to what he called a “delay” in the request for an injunction, which was filed four months after the law went into effect.
Walker asked a series of questions about the time lag, noting Wood “effectively served … for almost the entire semester before she sought relief.”
Wood, who has worked as a teacher in Hillsborough County since 2021, transitioned as a woman around 2020, had her name legally changed and lives as a woman, the lawsuit said. The state issued a teaching certificate in her legal name, Katie Wood. According to the lawsuit, county officials initially “were supportive of her transgender status and her female gender identity and expression.”
Since the law went into effect, the principal at Wood’s school and the county school board told her she could no longer be called “Ms.” because “her sex is deemed male.” The officials told Wood she could use the titles “Mr.,” “Teacher,” or “Coach.”
Boyd argued the law is doing “irreparable harm” to Wood.
“Ms. Wood, every day, is having to go into class and refer to herself as ‘teacher’ and be misgendered by her students out of ignorance, in some cases, to go through that process on a day-to-day basis,” Boyd said.
Schwandes, who uses they/them pronouns, was fired in October after refusing to comply with the pronoun restriction. According to the lawsuit, Schwandes is now the subject of an investigation by state education officials and could be stripped of their license.
Plaintiffs also are being represented by Southern Legal Counsel and the law firm Altshuler Berzon LLP. The lawsuit names numerous defendants, including the state Department of Education, the State Board of Education, the Hillsborough County School Board, the Lee County School Board and the Florida Virtual School Board of Trustees.
In addition to the First Amendment, the lawsuit alleges that the pronoun restrictions violate what is known as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because they discriminate based on sex.
The state has contracted to pay the Consovoy McCarthy PLLC firm up to $507,430 for legal costs associated with the lawsuit and any subsequent appeals, according to the Department of Financial Services website.
Walker did not rule on the motions Friday and said he has trials scheduled for the next month but would “do my best to get out an order as quickly as possible.”
–Dara Kam, News Service of Florida
Justbob says
This should be a no-brainer for the courts. Desantis is out of control with his Christian Nationalism bigotry and culture wars.
Joe D says
We have daily shootings and stabbings, people can’t afford their rents, or daily food expenses or insure their homes…and the State of Florida is spending OVER 1/2 million taxpayer dollars (and counting…) to fight these RIDICULOUS laws in court!?!
INMATES running the ASYLUM! But remember Florida as you pay those property and sales taxes…they are our ELECTED INMATES!!!
JimboXYZ says
Uggghhhh, not preferred pronouns again ? Too many other & more important things to address in this world for solutions. Rattle off preferred pronouns around me & I will just walk out on that show, avoid those individuals going forward, thanks for wasting my time. I may have to begrudgingly indulge the lunacy of preferred pronouns if the job I am being paid for requires that of me, it’ll be a miserable interaction to endure, hoping that it will mercifully be as brief an encounter. Otherwise they’re on my time & I have no time to waste processing another communicating their preferred pronouns as a tool to annoyance.
Pogo says
@FWIW, this is their country too
Fireside Chat with CMV and PrideVa for Transgender Day of Visibility
https://news.va.gov/130006/fireside-chat-with-cmv-and-prideva-for-transgender-day-of-visibility/
VA observes Transgender Day of Visibility
https://news.va.gov/129865/va-observes-transgender-day-of-visibility/
Ed P says
Wikipedia-1.2-6.8 percent of U.S.adults identify as LGBT. Florida 4.2%.
1.05% of adults identify as transgender.
Small group, small words(pronouns), yet unrelentingly deafening noise.
All man made. All fabricated. Once more why do the few infringe on the mass majority?
If I think of the top 100 problems plaguing mankind, I have difficulty even placing this in the mix. We need to focus on other things.
Common sense and the “at will work rights” really means that if your employer can find someone they believe to be better they can replace you. Also, if you feel you no longer want to work there, you leave.
You can’t legislate what someone calls you when you change the rules. I’m pretty sure the civil rights act of 1964 never intended to “protect” transgender.
How far left do we travel before we destroy ourselves? Everyone has the freedom to express themselves but that doesn’t mean they can force anyone to address them by their preferred pronoun. Which way is up?
Doug says
Thank the Democrats for it coming to this. The pathetic, whiney, and weak-minded people that they are.
Pierre Tristam says
Such a weak, pathetic, whiny thing to do, giving people freedom and autonomy over their identity. Thank heavens for Doug-tolling conservatives who’ll enslave us to their own purist conceptions of Adam and rib.
A Concerned Observer says
Just because a boy believes he is a girl does NOT require me to believe he IS a girl (Or Visa-Versa) and we DON’T need a law mandating as such.
Ray W. says
Hello Mr. Tristam,
I am reminded of an old story, told by my father. I have posted it before.
In the late 50’s, the governor removed a justice of the peace for abuse of office. As my father told the story, local business leaders knew the governor wanted to appoint my father; they urged him to take the position. My father initially declined, telling them he didn’t want to be a judge; he preferred advocacy. Eventually, my father agreed to serve out the remainder of the term, but he announced that he would not run for reelection, a decision he stood by when the time came.
On his first day on the bench, his constable (JP’s did not use bailiffs) called the cases, as was his practice. Eventually, the constable called the case of a Black woman, addressing her as Miss Jane (I don’t remember what my father said her name actually was). The constable had been addressing all other parties to disputes as Mr. Jones or Mrs. Smith. My father asked the constable if the litigant had given him permission to address her by her first name. As he described it, it was as if my father had slapped the constable across the face, but the constable addressed all litigants equally respectfully afterwards.
Eventually, as constable was an elected position, Harvey Altes was elected to serve as my father’s constable. Mr. Altes won by one vote. Distressed, he came to my father, worried that the people did not support him. My father asked: Do you know what they call a candidate who wins by one vote? They call him Constable. They then forged a life-long friendship. I coached one of Mr. Altes’ grandsons in youth recreational league baseball. One of his grand-daughter’s-in-law now ably serves as one of our circuit’s assistant Public Defenders, mostly in the homicide unit.
I don’t suppose anyone would have any reason to notice, but when I reply to a comment, I try to use the identifying name or phrase linked to the comment exactly as the commenter uses it. In this instance, I refer to Pierre Tristam as Mr. Tristam. Respect calls for nothing less than that. Some people have lengthy commenter names or phrases. I try to use them as they choose them. I thank commenters for their point of view, if it is reasoned and of value, regardless of whether I agree or disagree with the commenter. I reserve the right to oppose any commenter who chooses to support candidates who threaten violence if elected, who engages in misinformation or disinformation, or who advocates for the overthrow of our experimental liberal democratic Constitutional republic.
Chip D says
I have some lawyer friends who knew your dad when they were just starting their careers. Absolute legend, and “advocate” was the word most of them use to describe him.
Lois Lane says
You can have all of the freedom and autonomy you want but please don’t force it on me. We who have so called purist conceptions don’t force it on you.
Pierre Tristam says
No one is “forcing” anything on you. Your laws are forcing the denial of freedoms on “them.”
Bill C says
@Doug You’ve GOT to be a Russian or Chinese troll.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
Another Florida Law that went looking for a problem that most never cared about yet offered a grandstanding moment for DUH and his GOP cronies that now costs the Florida Taxpayer to defend.
AuntPatty says
It is so silly the fear angry conservatives men have for this group. They have so many mommy issues to deal with. The fact is: it can be viewed as silly when a person changes their gender and pronouns or it could viewed as sad and troubling or it could be viewed as a thing of joy that a person finally found themselves and lives in a time and place when they can do so. Do you need to call them by their pronouns, no of course not but you’d be a jerk and everyone would know it and arguing it – doesn’t change anything. And this law is designed to remove freedom and allow the state to decide that for us. If you are going to fly a don’t tread on me flag then you need to mean it all around. The state has no rights besides those we give it and people broadly don’t want this sort of thing regulated for good reason. Yes, there is a group who simply don’t want it forced on their kids at schools but the state failed to write a law that addresses those concerns because it can’t do so with the tools the state has, it’s a job to leave with parents and teachers. And parents with issues here, need to chill, the schools have long taught many things that are absurd, like hiding under a desk can protect from bombs and it will always be this way. Your kids will be fine, don’t worry. In fact, consider it training for the general freak show that is America. Anyway, this new trend with gender is a good thing and may even gets us away from all the divisive views of man and women being something different to the point of discrimination which is long due for a change. It is laughable that no democratic lawyer has effectively argued the abuses of state power on this one in court yet. If we can buy a gun in Walmart without any papers needed then we can call ourselves a man when we are born a women and when if others want to call us in the third person he/him they get to and it cannot be regulated anymore then that person can expect others to call them as both are acts of fascism. You can’t tell people what to do and you can’t pick and choose which amendments you like – we take them all and be glad we live in the last free country on the Earth. Common sense people. DeSantos passed that law and many other laws for national attention, only when he had delusions of grandeur and thought he could with the presidency by wearing high heels himself and now these dumb policies are coming home to roost because it was never a good policy for our state which lives on many things including tourism from lefties in other parts of the world and country. We live in Florida not Kansas and if you don’t stop them here you can bet the next footloose remake will be filmed in Miami.
Pierre Tristam says
Damn, AuntPatt, where have you been hiding? “… the general freak show that is America.” Priceless. I hope your comments today are only the beginning of a long and happy friendship with FlaglerLive, though I wish the email address you dropped was not fake. email me, if you can, at [email protected]
Skibum says
Thank you, AuntPatty, for your wise observations!
Just Say No says
All of this does not need to go as far as the courtroom. There are so many real issues that we need to be focused on i.e. inflation and immigration to name a couple. This topic/distraction is being taken way out of proportion. When someone tells you their pronouns simply look at them and say “No”. When they become agitated and demand that they be addressed by their pronouns just tell them you are not going to contribute to their psychosis. Reassure them that they are tolerated in society and that they can pretend to be whomever they want so long as it doesnt harm anyone else. We are all free to chose in this country. But, also inform them that tolerance and acceptance are two different things and that you have the freedom to not accept what they are displaying as something you want to acknowledge as being real.
Skibum says
Oh wow! How big of you to rise to the level of mere tolerance of others who are doing no harm to you, and most likely have a level of respect for you that you are too immature and unwilling to offer them in return. And talk about those who “pretend to be” someone they aren’t… YOU pretend to be an adult when your lack of kindness, maybe more of a lack of compassion or consideration for others is appalling and reveals you to be closer in maturity to someone who chews bubblegum and is just beginning to go through puberty.
Sherry says
@justsayno.. . your bullying, “self important” uncompromising, close minded, intolerance speaks volumes about you. . . and, it is not good. Some expert counselling sessions with a true minister or psychologist may provide some much needed understanding of others and the planet we all share.
Atwp says
Are the people running this State, adults? It is ashamed this State can talk about he, she, they, them. Tax dollars to pay for court cases. What about the needs of the people, lower insurance rates, higher pay, lower hospital bills. What are the leaders of this State doing? A commentator said something negative about the Democratic Party, but the Republican Party is ruining the State.
Laurel says
It’s always so beyond me why anyone cares about what people want to do with their own lives. As long as it doesn’t hurt animals, children or the elderly, and those involved are consenting adults, everyone else should mind their own business!
The only issue I have with pronouns is that they/them is plural. If you don’t have a multiple personality, then the pronouns should be singular for one person. I think it’s totally okay to come up with new pronouns. It would make more sense.