Teacher Related

According to school district spokeswoman Christina H. Upchurch, a teacher at Tocoi Creek High School in St. Johns County was requested to remove a T-shirt that stated “Protect Trans Kids” after a parent complained.

According to Upchurch, the instructor wore the shirt to school on Tuesday, and a parent submitted a photo to Principal Jay Willets “expressing concern.”

According to Upchurch, Willets “immediately” spoke with the instructor about it and gave another shirt, and the teacher swapped shirts. There was no disciplinary action taken.

Upchurch supplied some of the guidelines for employees in the St. Johns County School District. Employees are not permitted to wear buttons or clothes “that display a written message of any kind, except for names, logos and slogans related to a District school, the District, or school or District related organizations, events or activities.

“Employees shall not wear apparel with a political logo (elephant, donkey, etc.). However, employees shall have the right to participate in political activities in their individual capacity when they are not scheduled for duty and are not on District property or at a school-sponsored event or activity.”

According to Upchurch, the teacher was unavailable for comment. The teacher’s name is withheld since no disciplinary action has been taken.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed new prohibitions on discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in Florida schools into law on Monday, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents.

The bill garnered widespread condemnation from the LGBTQ community, Hollywood, and the White House, and students across the state staged walkouts in protest of its potential impact.

During their opening remarks at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday night, hostesses Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, and Regina Hall mocked the law.

However, DeSantis defended the ban on Monday, claiming that it allows parents to have more influence over their children’s education. Parental Rights in Education is the official name of the bill.

“We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination,” DeSantis said, in signing the legislation at Classical Preparatory School, where he was joined by several parents and students and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran.

The international Transgender Day of Visibility was held on Thursday. The day, like Transgender Awareness Week, is aimed to raise transgender awareness and highlight difficulties that the community encounters. According to GLAAD, trans advocate Rachel Crandall founded the day in 2010 after seeing media headlines about the community focusing on violence and wanting to shift the discussion to celebrating their lives.