A Florida public school teacher took to her TikTok page to declare she would rather get fired, sued, or thrown in jail than obey state law saying schools must inform parents of changes in their children’s sexuality and gender pertaining to school services offered to them.
What are the details?
“I just want to go ahead and state that I would rather lose my job than out one of my students to their families,” said Amber Mercier of the Academy in Port Charlotte, which serves middle and high school students. “Being a safe person and a safe place for kids that don’t have that at home is one of the best parts of being a teacher, so yeah, I’m not doing it. I don’t know — fire me, sue me, take me to jail. I’m not doing it.”
Mercier’s TikTok account went private Wednesday afternoon, but Libs of TikTok saved a copy and posted it to Twitter. The National Desk said it reached out to Mercier for comment but did not hear back prior to publication of its article.
What did the school district have to say?
Charlotte County Public Schools told the National Desk it’s investigating Mercier’s video.
“Our superintendent, assistant superintendent of HR, and the principal at the Academy have begun an investigation as to what happened today concerning the post by the teacher,” the school district noted to the outlet in an emailed statement. “We always are and always will be in compliance with laws, policies, and procedures put in place by the governor, the legislature, the commissioner of education, and the state school board — that will never change. This investigation will be a priority on today’s list of things do.”
Anything else?
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education Act into law Monday.
The law — which left-wing pro-LBGTQ types have falsely referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3, and it doesn’t use the word “gay” or prevent its use.
PJ Media said the governor’s office confirmed that the new law also requires school districts to adopt procedures for notifying parents if there are changes in services from schools regarding children’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being. The provision applies to students K-12, the outlet said.