The Times-Union shared screenshots and quotes from Caggiano’s Facebook page with the school district this week when seeking comment for this story. “He also stated he would now use whatever name or pronoun the child wished in the future.”īut during the same time-frame Caggiano was apologizing to his principal and he and his colleagues were receiving inclusion training, the teacher was sharing transphobic posts on Facebook. “He was remorseful and apologized after he found out the district’s position on this subject,” Hatcher said. Principal Hatcher told the Times-Union that when the incident occurred, he told Cesar she’d be supported and that he met with Caggiano one-on-one. “I received another email from saying that he handled the situation,” Cesar said. Next, she sent screenshots of her email exchange with Caggiano to Principal Saryn Hatcher, who promised he would “handle it.” Since then, Cesar reports relations with her teachers are going smoothly. “School staff/officials with a legitimate educational interest in this information should be informed of a transgender student’s affirmed name and gender pronoun.”Īfter Cesar received Caggiano’s response refusing to abide by her pronouns, she sent a request to her guidance counselor requesting a schedule change, which was honored. “Depending on the plan that is developed, a transgender student should be addressed by a name and gender pronoun corresponding to their consistently-asserted gender identity,” the district’s LGBTQ Support Guide said. This is not an anomaly for one county.”īesides being traumatic, Caggiano’s denial to use a student’s desired pronouns also defy Duval County Public School policy. “Trans students and students who are generally diverse continue to have real challenges having that part of their lives understood and respected across the system. “When I read his email, I was surprised at the sheer disrespect from him.”Ĭindy Watson, the CEO of JASMYN - a local nonprofit that provides support for LGBTQ youth - said a situation like this can be traumatic for a young trans person. Caggiano's email turned my whole mood around into anxiousness,” she said. I will call you by any reasonable name you like, but the pronouns are not a negotiable thing for me.” “If this is not acceptable for you, change classes. “I will NOT refer to you with female pronouns,” Caggiano responded in an email the Times-Union obtained.
16, Thomas Caggiano, one of the school’s 23 math teachers, responded. She called sending the email “nerve wracking,” but said the response from her teachers was positive - well, most of her teachers. “I am sending this email before the actual school year starts so that there is plenty of time to change it on the roll before then if possible.” “I will be in your class during the 2019-2020 school year, and I would like to let you know that I am a Male-to-Female Transgender student,” Cesar wrote. It was about two weeks before school was set to begin - plenty of lead time, she thought. 5, Cesar typed out the letter to each of her new teachers.
Duval County Public Schools launched an inquiry into Caggiano shortly after the Times-Union shared some of his transphobic, xenophobic and racist public social media posts. Now, as the school year wraps up, he’s still teaching. To this day, he publicly shares degrading memes on his personal Facebook page. Outside of school, his distaste for those who identify as transgender and others in the LGBTQ community isn’t a secret, either. RELATED | Read more Jacksonville-area education news He refused to honor Cesar’s pronouns, telling her if she didn’t like it, to switch classes - which is exactly what she did. She wrote her incoming teachers to let them know her chosen name and pronouns, since the class roster would say something else.īut her math teacher, Thomas Caggiano, wasn’t having it.
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The 15-year-old, whose full name we aren’t using to protect her identity, is transgender. Weeks before the start of this school year, Cesar - a sophomore at Sandalwood High School - anxiously emailed all of her new teachers.