Erika Donalds, the chair of the America First Policy Institute told Newsmax Friday it is important for educators to recognize the rights of parents.
Donalds was on Newsmax's "National Report" to discuss Melissa Calhoun, a Florida teacher who was fired after she referred to a student by their preferred name that aligns with their gender identity rather than their legal name.
Calhoun violated the state's Parental Authorization for Deviation from Student's Legal Name Form, which requires parents sign off on their children being referred to by any other name other than their legal name.
"Parents have the right to fundamentally direct the upbringing of their children, whether that means their education or their mental health," Donalds said. "We see this as a mental health issue that is being kept from parents.
"Instead of the teacher disclosing to the parents that the student wanted a different name or a different pronoun ... the teacher took it upon themselves to side with the student over the parent and really violate parents rights and the law."
Thirteen other states have adopted laws like Florida's, Donalds said.
"I think it's very unfortunate that a longtime teacher like this made a poor decision, but there has to be accountability for this," Donalds said. "We cannot allow this type of behavior to run rampant in our schools. Parents trust schools. They send the most precious thing to that school and let go of that child for eight hours a day. They have to know that the people that they've entrusted with their children are going to follow ... their values, but also keep them included when major situations like a child saying, I want to change my gender, I want to change my name, how can you keep that from a parent? It's totally unacceptable."
Donalds said the culture of pushing parents out of the classroom and not including them in major decisions has to stop.
"I'm really proud Florida has led the way on this," Donalds said.
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Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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