In a stunning ruling that underscores Florida’s intensifying crackdown on transgender rights, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that Katie Wood, a transgender math teacher in Hillsborough County, must misgender herself while teaching or remain silent about her identity altogether.
The court’s decision upheld a 2023 Florida law that bans public school teachers from using any pronouns or honorifics that do not align with their sex assigned at birth. For Wood, who has socially transitioned and taught for years as “Ms. Wood,” this means she is now legally prohibited from using “she/her” pronouns or referring to herself as “Ms.” in the classroom.
The court sided with the state of Florida in a 2–1 decision, finding that Wood’s in-class speech constitutes “government speech” and therefore can be regulated by the state without violating the First Amendment. The majority opinion, written by Judge Kevin Newsom, asserted that since Wood’s pronoun use occurs during instructional time, it is part of her official duties and not protected as private speech.
Judge Barbara Lagoa concurred, framing the issue as a matter of professional conduct, not identity.
But in a scathing dissent, Judge Adalberto Jordan warned that the ruling “strips public school teachers of their ability to express something as basic and personal as who they are.” He argued that pronouns and titles like “Ms.” or “Mrs.” are not state property; they are part of a person’s self-expression, regardless of job title.
“This court has now sanctioned the state’s power to force a transgender teacher to misgender herself, to lie about her identity, every single day in front of her students,” Judge Jordan wrote.
Katie Wood filed the original lawsuit after Hillsborough County Public Schools informed her she would be disciplined if she continued to use female pronouns in class. Her suit challenged the law on constitutional grounds, claiming it violated her rights to free speech, equal protection, and personal dignity.
But the court’s ruling brushed aside those concerns, relying heavily on precedent from Garcetti v. Ceballos, a 2006 Supreme Court case that gives the government broad leeway to control employee speech made as part of their job duties.
Advocates say this ruling sets a dangerous precedent. “This isn’t about education; it’s about erasure,” said one LGBTQ+ rights attorney. “Florida has now codified state-enforced misgendering, and the court just signed off on it.”
The decision comes amid a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws sweeping through Florida and other conservative-led states, where classrooms have become battlegrounds for identity, censorship, and state power. For trans educators like Katie Wood, the consequences are deeply personal and professionally devastating.
Wood’s legal team is considering their next steps, including a potential appeal to the full 11th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court. But for now, Florida law demands that Katie Wood deny her own identity just to teach algebra.
This is not about pronouns. It’s about the right to exist and say so without the state silencing you.
