A school teacher in the United States has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation after being accused of violating state law by asking students and faculty members to address her with the gender-neutral title "Mx." instead of "Ms." or "Mrs.", the New York Post reported.
The incident caught the attention of Florida's Attorney General, James Uthmeier, who last week announced the matter on social media after his office received a complaint.
The teacher, who works at Talbot Elementary School in Gainesville, was accused of forcing students and faculty to use the title "Mx.". Her identity was not released.
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The title "Mx." is a gender-neutral term that has been in use since the 1970s and was added to the dictionary in 2017. Some language experts note that "Mx." is typically pronounced "mix" or "mux" and functions like "Mr." or "Ms." for those seeking a non-binary option, or when the gender is unclear.
The Attorney General claims that it undermines the state's policy that "sex is an immutable biological trait" and that it's "false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person's sex".
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Uthmeier also called the teacher's behavior "unacceptable" and directed the Alachua County Public Schools to ensure the title is "dropped in the school setting immediately".
The controversy surrounds Florida House Bill 1069, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis in July 2023, which prohibits K-12 school employees from using preferred personal titles or pronouns that do not align with their sex assigned at birth.
Uthmeier urged school officials to "enforce the law and consider disciplinary action," warning that failure to do so could expose them to legal liability.
Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas echoed Uthmeier's remarks, calling the allegations "deeply troubling and ones that I will not take lightly".
