‘Pansexual’ Florida Teacher Fired After Sexuality Discussion In Classroom

Authored by Caden Pearsen via The Epoch Times,

A former Florida middle school art teacher has said she was fired after discussing sexuality with her students, including revealing to them that she is pansexual and allowing the students to paint LGBTQI+ flags which she hung in the classroom.

Casey Scott was fired from Trafalgar Middle School for what the Lee County School District said was deviating from the state-mandated curriculum, Fox News Digital reported.

But Scott told a local NBC affiliate, “A discussion happened in class and because of that now I’m fired.”

Speaking about how she was feeling after losing her job, Scott said she was ashamed and disappointed “because I feel like it’s all my fault, and I was just being myself.”

The former teacher said part of the classroom discussion involved “a lot of the kids” telling her they were either non-binary, bisexual, or gay.

Scott, who is reportedly married to a man, said this prompted a discussion on sexuality, including telling her middle school students that she is pansexual. In her own words, she said this meant she liked females, males, non-binary, and trans people.

She said the students asked to paint LGBTQI+ flags to express their own sexual identities. Scott hung these on the classroom door until, she said, school officials told her to remove them.

“They said that it would be in the best interest if I just get rid of them now,” the former teacher said.

“I went over to the recycling bin, I grabbed all of their flags, and all the kids were staring at me, and I crumbled their flags in front of them,” she went on to say.

She took pictures of the flags crumpled in the bin and shared them with the local news affiliate.

Scott said she was sent home and later received a call from the school’s administration telling her she was being released from her contract.

The Epoch Times reached out to the school and the Lee County School District for further comment.

Kevin Daly from the Teachers Union of Lee County told the NBC affiliate that Scott was under probation and not a union member so she could be legally fired without cause.

He noted the incident might prompt discussion on how teachers should handle LGBTQI+ issues in the classroom.

Discussion and teaching on sexual orientation in schools became a flashpoint issue in the state after Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 28 signed the Parental Rights in Education legislation.

The bill reinforces the fundamental rights of parents to make decisions about the education and well-being of their children and prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation in kindergartens through third grade.

It was criticized by some who as being anti-LGBTQ and dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, although the word “gay” doesn’t appear in the verbiage of the legislation.

DeSantis said children should be able to go to school to get an education, not be indoctrinated.