ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A former St. Johns County teacher, who says he was forced to resign last year, is speaking out.
In a civil rights complaint, ACLU attorneys and Shepard Scalf is fighting back because he believes the school district assumed he was transgender. He says he was born intersex.
“I think that some people in this life, they get lucky and they can figure out like what they were made for, what is your purpose? Why are you here? And for me, that has always been teaching,” Scalf told Action News Jax.
He says something he knew was his purpose was stripped away from him just three weeks into his role at Patriot Oaks Academy in St. Johns County.
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“We believe that that reason was because there is a perception that I am transgender,” Scalf said.
He was given a choice to be terminated from his contract or submit a resignation letter. He chose the latter. The resignation letter notes his last day as October 14, 2025, and the type of resignation as ‘in leu of termination’.
He says the assumption that he is transgender, when he fully identifies as a man, and being asked to leave is discrimination.
“I have XY chromosomes because of the intersex condition that I have,” Scalf said.
“I don’t fit their perception of what a man should look like, I don’t sound like what they think a man could sound like, things like that. And so people generally make the assumption that I am transgender,” Scalf said.
Scalf says in a meeting with his former boss and principal, he was told by his principal that it was not due to performance.
“He says that I’m doing an exemplary job. I have had, I’ve received no complaints from my administrators, obviously, none from my colleagues,” Scalf said.
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ACLU attorney Shana Knizhnik says they look forward to getting Scalf back to the classroom.
“There is no law in Florida or anywhere that allows people to be fired for being transgender or intersex. There is a statute relating to pronoun use in schools, but that does not give the school district the ability to fire someone at will based on their sex or gender identity,” Knizhnik said.
Action News Jax reached out to Patriot Oaks Academy. They told us they cannot comment on pending litigation. We also reached out to the superintendent; we have not heard back.
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