The Advocate reports that a transgender teacher says she must leave Florida because state laws mean she “can’t even defend” herself in the classroom. Saoirse Stone, a 32-year-old high school English teacher in Orlando, says new restrictions mean she cannot use pronouns that match her gender identity and must stay silent if students deliberately misgender her. If we were to correct them, she says, her teaching credential might be revoked. “I can’t even speak up for myself,” she said.
The Florida laws were introduced under Governor Ron DeSantis, including the controversial Parental Rights in Education Act, which restricts how sexual orientation and gender identity can be discussed in schools. Stone, who began transitioning in 2022, says she now constantly has to self-police what she says in class out of fear it could cost her job. She says she loves teaching but is afraid she won’t be able to continue in Florida; so, she and her wife have decided to move to Maryland, where stronger protections for trans people exist. Stone said, “I’ve already come out. I can’t go back into the closet.”
