Melissa Calhoun was fired after calling a student a preferred name and did not follow Florida’s “Parental Authorization for Deviation from Student’s Legal Name Form” law
Melissa Calhoun’s contract was not renewed after she referred to a student by their preferred name without permission from the child’s parents, as required by Florida law
Brevard Public Schools said the teacher admitted to not complying with the law during an investigation
A Change.org petition calling for Calhoun’s reinstatement has over 14,000 signatures
A Florida teacher was fired for calling her student by their preferred name without the consent of the child’s parents, according to Click Orlando, Central Florida Public Media and Florida Today.
Melissa Calhoun, a teacher at Satellite High School in Brevard County, Fla., was informed her contract for the 2025-2026 school year would not be renewed because she called a student an alternative name to their legal name without a signed form.
According to Florida’s “Parental Authorization for Deviation from Student’s Legal Name Form” law, educators are required to get parental permission before calling a student by a name different from their legal one. The law was implemented at the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
The student’s parent alerted the school that Calhoun called the student by a preferred name. Brevard Public Schools Spokesperson Janet Murnaghan said that the district conducted an internal investigation into the matter, and Calhoun admitted to using the child’s preferred name, per Florida Today.
As a result, Florida will review her teaching credentials because she violated state law. Due to the state’s intervention, the district chose not to renew her annual contract. Calhoun began working at the school in 2013, according to her LinkedIn profile.
“BPS supports parents’ rights to be the primary decision-makers in their children’s lives, and Florida law affirms their right to be informed,” Murnaghan said in a statement, per Florida Today.
“The teacher is working under a ten-month contract that expires in May 2025,” Murnaghan’s statement continued. “Since the state will be reviewing her teaching certificate based on these actions, the district decided not to renew the annual contract until the issue is resolved with the state.”
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“At BPS, our focus is on education–teachers are here to teach and support students academically,” Murnaghan wrote. “Our job is to work in partnership with parents and guardians to ensure student success.”
During a school board meeting on Tuesday, April 8, Calhoun’s coworker, Kristine Staniec, said, “The teacher made a difference in her classroom and in the lives of our students, including my own child. She deserved more than a quiet exit. She deserved fairness, context and compassion.”
“There was no harm, no threat to safety, no malicious intent, just a teacher trying to connect with a student,” Staniec said.
A Change.org petition, titled “Reinstate Ms. Calhoun,” was created and has over 14,580 signatures as of Thursday, April 10.
“I extend my strongest recommendation for the reinstatement of Melissa Calhoun at Satellite High School,” one person named Joanna wrote on the petition. “I have known her since she was 16 as a student in my classroom, and I have watched her flourish as a teacher in her adulthood, from her work at DeLaura Middle School where she inspired so many young people including our son, to her work at Satellite High School where she has not only poured her heart into teaching but also to developing strong bonds with students and their families. She truly is the best of the best. Please reinstate her. It is unquestionably the right thing to do.”
A representative for Brevard Public Schools did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Thursday.
