Nonbinary Teacher Sues Florida After Getting Fired for Using Gender-Neutral Honorific ‘Mx’

“As a high school teacher, I should not have to pretend to be someone I’m not," said AV Schwandes, one of three plaintiffs in the lawsuit

A nonbinary teacher in Florida is suing the state's education department and their former place of employment after being fired for using the gender-neutral honorific “Mx.” in an email signature.

AV Schwandes was fired by an online public high school in October after adding “Mx.” to their email signature at the start of the 2023-24 school year, according to a copy of the lawsuit shared by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The teacher, who uses they/them pronouns, said that they did not tell students at the Florida Virtual School about the change and that students began using it after noticing the teacher updated their email signature, per NBC News.

Related: Ron DeSantis Moves to Apply Florida's Restrictive 'Don't Say Gay' Law in High School Classrooms

The school asked Schwandes to remove the "Mx." from their signature and ultimately fired them, citing Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act. Schwandes filed suit alongside two educators who are transgender women, Katie Wood and a Jane Doe, per NBC News.

The lawsuit, which was reportedly filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on Wednesday, argues that the law — specifically the part that prevents educators from using titles consistent with their gender identities — violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

As the Tallahassee Democrat notes, the Parental Rights in Education Act saw a provision in July which stated educators cannot “provide to a student his or her preferred personal title or pronouns if such preferred personal title or pronouns do not correspond to his or her sex.”

"Subsection 3 discriminates against transgender and nonbinary public-school employees and contractors on the basis of sex, by prohibiting them from using the titles and pronouns that express who they are," the lawsuit reads.

"... Through subsection 3, Florida has stigmatized Plaintiffs, threatened their psychological wellbeing, upended the respect that is owed to them as educators and that is necessary for a safe workplace and functioning classroom and put their professions and families’ wellbeing on the line. Florida’s statute must give way to the Constitution and laws of the United States and must not be enforced."

The Parental Rights in Education Act was first signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022 and expanded upon in March 2023, forbidding classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-12. Critics have long called the divisive legislation the "Don't Say Gay" law, alleging that it has adverse effects on the LGBTQ community.

“I lost my job, and maybe my career, because Florida lawmakers don’t want maturing young adults to know that I exist,” Schwandes said in a statement, per NBC. “As a high school teacher, I should not have to pretend to be someone I’m not simply because I don’t ascribe to someone else’s rigid ideas of gender. Tolerance is a two-way street."

"Just as I respect the faith-based beliefs of others, my civil rights need to be respected because I am an American, and I do exist," they added.

Related: Lawmaker Who Sponsored Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Sentenced to Four Months in Federal Prison for Loan Fraud

Defendants in the lawsuit include the Florida Department of Education and State Board of Education, the Hillsborough County School Board, the Lee County School Board, and the Florida Virtual School's board of trustees.

The Florida Virtual School, Hillsborough County School Board and Lee County School District did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment on Thursday. The Florida Department of Education said it does not comment on pending litigation.

In a statement last month, the Florida Virtual School said, "as a Florida public school, FLVS is obligated to follow Florida laws and regulations pertaining to public education. This includes laws … pertaining to the use of Personal Titles and Pronouns within Florida’s public school system," according to NBC.

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Co-plaintiff and Hillsborough County high school teacher Katie Wood said in a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat that "there is no American right more fundamental than freedom of expression and protection from the government that weaponizes their disagreements on that expression."

Both Wood and the unnamed woman said their respective schools have been supportive of their transgender identities, but that the "parental rights" law now prohibits them from introducing themselves to students as “Ms.” or with "she/her" pronouns.

"As a human being living in America, I demand to be treated with fairness and equity at work," Wood added to the Democrat. "Those who support and enforce this law are trying to take my voice away and bury my existence."

The Southern Poverty Law Center and Southern Legal Counsel are representing the plaintiffs alongside private law firm Altshuler Berzon, LLP.

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