A Florida teacher claims she was fired for discussing her pansexual status with middle school students whom she then asked to draw pictures representing their own sexual orientations. Cape Coral art instructor Casey Scott said her students were curious about her sexual orientation and she explained to them that she was pansexual during a lesson in March, NBC2 reported.
“A discussion happened in class and because of that, now I’m fired,” Scott told the outlet. Pansexual refers to someone who is attracted to all categories of people regardless of their sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Scott, who is married to a man, said the kids at Trafalgar Middle School then created flags representing their own sexuality and gender identities ranging from transgender and non-binary to gay. The first-year teacher posted their creations to her classroom door before administrators told her to take them down. “They said it would be in the best interest if I got rid of them now,” she told NBC.
Scott told the students she identifies as pansexual, which means her attraction to others is not limited with respect to gender, sex, or sexual orientation, the report noted. After the lesson, Scott said students created flags they said represented their gender identities and sexual orientations. The flags symbolized identities such as gay, transgender, and nonbinary, the report noted.
After her students made the flags, Scott posted them to the classroom door, according to the report, though administrators were quick to tell her to take the creations down, she said. “They said it would be in the best interest if I got rid of them now,” Scott said.
The flags were removed and thrown away, but parents were angered and informed Lee County School District officials of their dissatisfaction, the report noted. Some of the middle schoolers understood what was being discussed, but others were confused, district officials said. Scott was not a member of the teachers union at the time and was working on a probationary basis. She was fired for not abiding by the district curriculum, officials said.
