A Florida school district is under fire for refusing to honor a transgender student’s chosen name at his high school graduation. Charline Barger says her son, a student at Escambia Virtual Academy, is set to graduate on May 27. The school is in conservative Florida Panhandle and Pensacola.
This is the same congressional district of former Congressman Matt Gaetz. School officials have insisted on using his deadname—the name assigned to him at birth—despite Barger’s requests to respect his true identity. When Barger approached the school’s director, Lisa Morgan, asking them to use her son’s affirmed name, she was told it would violate district policy and “be a big hassle,” claiming other students might want to use inappropriate nicknames.
Escambia County superintendent Keith Leonard defended the decision, saying,
“It has been our practice to announce full legal names, as they appear on birth certificates and diplomas, at commencement ceremonies.”
But Barger has pushed back, saying, “He has been referred to by his chosen name by administrators, teachers, and students at the school for three years. It may seem like a small moment to those calling the names, but for the students on that stage, it’s everything.”
The mother added, “It’s about a student standing tall, hearing their real name called, and walking proudly across that stage. To deny that moment is to deny their identity.”
This decision comes as Florida continues to pass anti-trans legislation, including bans on gender-affirming sports participation and changes to passport gender markers. For the LGBTQ community, moments like these are not small. They are everything. And Queer News Tonight continues to ask…. Why does it always seem to be Florida?
