TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge Friday will hear arguments in an attempt by a transgender teacher and a nonbinary teacher to block part of a 2023 law that restricts pronouns and titles that educators can use in Florida public schools.
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker will consider motions for a preliminary injunction as part of a lawsuit that contends the restrictions violate a federal civil rights law and the First Amendment.
Plaintiffs Katie Wood, a transgender Hillsborough County teacher, and AV Schwandes, a nonbinary teacher fired last year by Florida Virtual School, are seeking the injunction. Wood’s injunction motion, for example, said she has been prevented from using the title “Ms.” and she/her pronouns.
“(The state law) unlawfully requires Ms. Wood to stay silent about or misrepresent a basic element of how she presents herself to the world and conceives of herself — one as fundamental as her name, race, or religion,” the motion, filed in December, said. “In addition to the distress this restriction has caused her, the new regime has disrupted her classroom and confused her students.”
