An elementary school teacher learned the hard way about Florida’s education laws.
Parents immediately revolted.
And this teacher got fired after forcing students to use one word that enraged Florida parents.
Florida education official orders Gainesville teacher removed from classroom
A Talbot Elementary School teacher in Gainesville started the school year off by ordering students and staff to address her with the gender-neutral prefix "Mx." instead of traditional titles like "Ms." or "Mrs."
That decision just cost her a job.
Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas confirmed Wednesday the teacher was placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier demanded immediate action.¹
"I’ve confirmed with Superintendent Patton that the teacher has been placed on leave pending an investigation," Kamoutsas announced.² "The allegations are deeply troubling and ones I will not take lightly."
https://twitter.com/StasiKamoutsas/status/1981078535004397891
Parents complained to state officials after discovering their children were being forced to use the made-up gender-neutral title.
Attorney General Uthmeier fired off a letter to Superintendent Kamela Patton and the Alachua County School Board calling the teacher’s behavior a clear violation of Florida law.
The complaint described "Mx." as a "made-up term describing an individual who does not wish to identify her gender" and demanded the practice "stop immediately."³
Teacher violated clear Florida education law
Attorney General Uthmeier didn’t mince words in his letter to school officials.
He cited Florida statutes that explicitly prohibit school employees from using preferred personal titles or pronouns that "do not correspond to his or her sex" because "sex is an immutable biological trait."⁴
The teacher’s actions also violated the Alachua County Public Schools’ own policy manual, which requires staff to follow state law regarding personal titles and pronouns in educational settings.⁵
Uthmeier argued that forcing children to use "Mx." amounts to making them "mouth support for nonsense" and tramples on parental authority over how children are raised.⁶
"Florida schools aren’t affirmation labs for confused adults," the Attorney General wrote.⁷
This case perfectly demonstrates why Florida passed these education laws in the first place.
Parents send their kids to school to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic – not to participate in a teacher’s personal gender ideology experiment.
Uthmeier warned that failure to take immediate action could prompt legal enforcement and hold district officials personally liable for allowing the violations to continue.
"Gender ideologues who refuse to follow Florida law, risking harm to our children, do not deserve the public trust," he stated.⁸
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/1981033991038763255
Florida has been implementing strict protections against gender ideology in public education.
Ron DeSantis has taken an aggressive stance on enforcing these policies.
“We are putting a stop to woke ideology and DEI in higher education,” he wrote on X.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1655268806690848771
Teachers across Florida are learning that the state won’t tolerate activists using classrooms as platforms for pushing progressive gender theories on children.
This Gainesville teacher just became the latest example of what happens when educators prioritize ideology over following the law and respecting parental rights.
¹ Michelle Vecerina, "Alachua elementary teacher placed on leave after demanding students use ‘Mx.’ title," Florida News, October 22, 2025.
² – ⁸ Ibid.
