Florida educator accused of forcing minor to transition, school officials say ‘there was no intention’
Florida – A parent accused teachers at Satellite High School of “grooming” her child to turn gay and transition. This led to weeks of community debate and scrutiny. School officials have now finished an internal investigation into the matter.
The problem started when a mom called the school board to report that teachers were affecting her daughter’s gender orientation and gender identity. Melissa Calhoun, a teacher at Satellite High School for a long time, was at the center of the allegation.
She was accused of calling the student by a male nickname without getting formal permission from the boy’s parents. Florida law says that schools must have clear consent from parents before calling students by any name other than the one they were given at birth.
After the complaint, district officials began an in-depth investigation. The 128-page report that came out of these discussions with Calhoun showed the steps that officials took before making their decision. Calhoun said during these talks that she didn’t know that using the student’s nickname was against district policy or state law. She told the police that she didn’t know how to get the forms she needed and that she hadn’t talked to the student about transitioning or sexual orientation in class.
While a formal reprimand was considered, Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Rendell ultimately opted not to renew Calhoun’s contract for the coming school year. A spokesman for the district said in a statement that they made this decision because they weren’t sure how the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) would respond to the case.
“The decision was made by Dr. Rendell based on uncertainty surrounding the state’s response to the incident. We do not have any historical data to guide us on a FLDOE [Florida Department of Education] response to this violation. We do not want to start the 2025-2026 school year with a teacher whose license may be revoked by the state…,” was written in the statement sent to FOX 35.
The report had quotes from both the concerned parent and the teacher. The parent said that staff at both DeLaura Middle School and Satellite High School had pushed her daughter to change her gender and identify as gay. Calhoun, on the other hand, said she had “no clue” her actions would be seen as breaking the rules and that she hadn’t meant to hurt anyone.
As the investigation proceeded on, members of the community came together to support Calhoun by assembling outside a school board meeting to show their support. But the result leaves a lot of questions unresolved. The state’s investigation of Calhoun’s teaching certification continues to move on, and there is no clear date for when a decision will be made.
For now, the case has shown how hard it is for educators and schools to follow new state rules on getting permission from parents, figuring out who students are, and how to engage with them in the classroom.
