CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A Florida teacher said she was fired after speaking with her students about sexuality.
Casey Scott was an art teacher at Trafalgar Middle School in Cape Coral until recently.
"A discussion happened in class and, because of that, now I'm fired," Scott told NBC affiliate WBBH in southwest Florida.
Scott said some students began drawing pictures of LGBTQ+ flags and claimed to be either non-binary, bisexual or gay. Then they asked about her.
"I'm pansexual," she said, meaning she is attracted to people regardless of their sex or gender.
After Scott hung up the pictures on her classroom door, she received a message from school administrators, she claimed.
"They said that it would be in the best interest if I just get rid of them now," she said.
Scott shared photographs with WBBH showing how she got rid of them.
"I went over to the recycling bin, I grabbed all of their flags and all the kids were staring at me, and I crumbled their flags in front of them," Scott said.
First, she was sent home, she said. Next, she got a telephone call.
"I got a call from administration saying that, 'Well, at this time, we are releasing you from your contract,'" Scott said.
The president of the Teachers Association of Lee County said the school district was within its right to fire her.
"During that probationary period, they can let you go without cause," Kevin Daly told WBBH.
Her dismissal came days before the Parental Rights in Education bill was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Known by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" law, it forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
The school district told WBBH that Scott was terminated for not following state-mandated curriculum.