The Cost of Visibility: Court Rules Trans Teacher Must Refrain From Pronoun Usage
Katie Wood is a math teacher in Florida. She also happens to be a transgender woman. Until recently, she used “she” and “her” in the classroom, just like any other educator referring to themselves. But a new federal court ruling says she can’t do that anymore. In a decision that is a deeply dehumanizing blow [...] Read More... from The Cost of Visibility: Court Rules Trans Teacher Must Refrain From Pronoun Usage The post The Cost of Visibility: Court Rules Trans Teacher Must Refrain From Pronoun Usage appeared first on LBS.


Katie Wood is a math teacher in Florida. She also happens to be a transgender woman. Until recently, she used “she” and “her” in the classroom, just like any other educator referring to themselves. But a new federal court ruling says she can’t do that anymore.
In a decision that is a deeply dehumanizing blow to the trans community, a panel of judges ruled that Wood must misgender herself at work, effectively barring her from using accurate pronouns in front of students and colleagues. The ruling is already raising alarms across the state and the country, with many asking: What’s the real cost of being visible?
Florida Court Blocks Pronoun Use in Class

According to the Florida Phoenix, Wood sued the state after the 2023 law passed, stating that employees of public schools may not identify to their students with pronouns not consistent with their birth sex, “an immutable biological trait.”
However, Wood argued that the law violated her First Amendment rights and using the “he/him” pronouns was “impractical, disruptive, and stigmatizing.”
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision, stating that Wood’s use of pronouns violates that law.
“Given the statute’s relatively limited sweep and, even more so, the narrowness of Wood’s challenge, this is, we think, a straightforward case,” Judge Kevin Newsom wrote in a 14-page opinion.
“When a public-school teacher addresses her students within the four walls of a classroom — whether orally or in writing — she is unquestionably acting ‘pursuant to [her] official duties,'” he continued.
While the ruling doesn’t bar Wood from identifying as trans, it forces her to speak about herself in the third person or not at all.
Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Expansion Set the Stage

In 2023, Florida lawmakers expanded what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay“ law, officially known as the Parental Rights in Education Act. The original 2022 version banned discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K through 3, according to The Florida Senate. But the 2023 update extended those restrictions through 12th grade, effectively silencing LGBTQ+ topics across all public school classrooms.
The law doesn’t just limit what teachers can say; it also restricts what they can do. It creates a culture of fear. Educators who mention a same-sex partner, display a rainbow sticker, or acknowledge a student’s pronouns risk losing their jobs.
The Florida Department of Education backed the expansion by threatening disciplinary action against teachers who “deviate” from the approved curriculum. In some districts, schools pulled books with queer characters and required staff to remove Pride flags. The state has made it clear: neutrality means invisibility.
This political backdrop shaped the court’s ruling in Katie Wood’s case. Legal experts say the state’s ongoing crackdown on LGBTQ+ visibility in schools paved the way for policies like the one that bans Wood from using pronouns. When the court stated that a “trans teacher must refrain from pronoun usage,“ it echoed the broader legislative trend of erasing queer identity under the guise of parental rights and educational neutrality.
The court’s statement that a “trans teacher must refrain from pronoun usage“ underscores how state leaders continue to weaponize education policy to target LGBTQ+ individuals. Her case reflects a broader effort to restrict authenticity and silence queer educators under the guise of neutrality. By forcing her to misgender herself in front of students, the ruling makes clear that visibility comes at a cost, and in Florida, that cost keeps rising.
What do you think about the court’s decision? Share your thoughts in the comments.
The post The Cost of Visibility: Court Rules Trans Teacher Must Refrain From Pronoun Usage appeared first on LBS.
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