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click to enlarge Monica Obradovic Hollis Moore started teaching at Kirkwood School District four years ago. They say their job gradually became harder to do as the district wanted them to “hide” their nonbinary transgender identity.

For years, Hollis Moore took what they could. They say they tolerated being purposefully misgendered. They looked the other way when they were told a student’s parents requested a 24-hour notice before Moore entered the same room as their child. They didn’t throw a fit when someone vandalized their classroom by smearing feces on the floor. 

But now, after teaching elementary-age gifted students in the Kirkwood School District for four years, Moore says they’ve had enough. They’ve quit their position as a result of the discrimination they say they endured as a nonbinary transgender educator. 

“You have now rid your district of all openly trans Kirkwood educators,” Moore wrote in their resignation letter to the Kirkwood Board of Education this month. 

Moore is not alone. They’re one of three Kirkwood School District educators who say they were terminated or forced to quit their positions due to their gender identities in the past two months.

A transgender substitute teacher claims she quit after the district told her that telling her students her gender identity was “sex education,” according to an online petition demanding an end to discrimination within Kirkwood School District. The teacher did not respond to calls from the RFT, but a representative of the teachers through the Missouri National Education Association confirmed the outlines of her allegation.

A second nonbinary transgender substitute teacher also says they were put on unpaid leave and later terminated over a false claim that they taught their students at Robinson Elementary a lesson on gender identity.

“Because of the political climate is for trans people, I’m very mindful about how things can be construed and definitely did not diverge from the curriculum ” the teacher says. They asked the RFT to not include their name. “I never taught a lesson about sex ed.”

In a statement to the RFT, Kirkwood Superintendent David Ulrich did not address the specifics of the teachers’ allegations.

“We acknowledge the challenges and adversity faced by gender diverse individuals in all communities,” Ulrich said. He added that the district is committed to creating safe, inclusive spaces — which includes respecting the titles and pronouns of staff and students.

“This is an ongoing journey and we are committed to a growth mindset in this area,” Ulrich said. “We are continually working to improve and foster a climate of belonging.”

The conflict in Kirkwood comes at a time when being transgender in Missouri has never been more perilous. The Missouri Attorney General issued an emergency order last week that heavily restricts gender-affirming care. State legislators are considering multiple measures to block transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming care. One bill would force transgender athletes to play on sports teams that match their gender assigned at birth.

The efforts extend to schools as well. Missouri’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a harsher version than the original that was passed in Florida, would outlaw most conversations about LGBTQ+ issues in K-12 public schools and only allows licensed mental health providers to talk about gender identity to students.

Despite that fraught climate in Jefferson City, the educators who worked for Kirkwood say they’re done waiting for the district to improve.

‘Controversial sexual topics’

Monday night, Moore spoke in front of the Kirkwood Board of Education and asked the board to take a good look, even though what was before the board would’ve been hard to miss.

At least 100 supporters of the three trans educators crowded into North Kirkwood Middle School’s cafeteria in red shirts to show of solidarity for the teachers. 

“We can make this a better place for everyone,” Moore said to the board. “The support is here. We need you to stand up and do what these people need.”

Monday night was the first time Moore spoke at a school board meeting — but it was far from the first time Moore had been a subject of conversation at the meeting. 

After Moore was hired in 2019, talk that a teacher who used the title “Mx,” a gender-neutral form of Ms. or Mr., started to circulate online and in parent circles. Parents started addressing the school board in opposition to the title, according to multiple Webster-Kirkwood Times articles. They were concerned that “controversial sexual topics” such as Moore’s title were inappropriate and would confuse students. 

In an outline from a meeting that summer, administrators wrote they “fully support” Moore, but some parents felt their trust was broken by Hollis’ hiring. The outline contained instructions on how Moore was to explain their gender identity to students. It was later attached to a disciplinary memo Moore received for saying “I’m not a boy or girl,” according to the MNEA representative.

click to enlarge Courtesy Missouri National Education Association These screenshots from a meeting outline show what Moore was told they could say to explain their pronouns and “Mx” title.

The district okayed Moore’s title. But Moore says they were subsequently told what they were “allowed to say” in regard to their gender.

Moore was not permitted to explain what “Mx” meant, Moore says. They claim they were not allowed to say they were nonbinary and trans. They could not correct a student or coworker if they used the wrong pronouns. If someone ever asked Moore why they used the title “Mx,” Moore was told to tell them “it is my preference” and nothing else, Moore says. 

“Which ended up being far more of a problem, because it turns out that first graders don’t ask you, ‘Why is your title Mx?’” Moore says. “They ask you, ‘Are you a boy or girl?’ ‘It is my preference’ doesn’t answer that question. So it was a lot of silence and blank stares, unfortunately.”

Steph Deidrick, a spokesperson for the district, says the district honors all staff and students’ gender identities. 

“That’s something the district does support, not just for staff, but for students and family members,” Deidrick says. “They are allowed to use the language that best describes their identity.” 

“I think there is guidance to ensure that what is discussed is age and developmentally appropriate… If something does go into the realm where it could be considered sex education, we have to follow the law. And that law maybe limits some of the conversations that can be had.” 

Missouri does not mandate schools to teach sex education. Schools that teach sex education, however, are required by law to follow certain requirements. State law also requires schools to notify a student’s parent in advance of such instruction so parents can pull their children out of the instruction if they do not approve. 

The law does not forbid instruction on gender identity, nor does it lump discussions of gender identity and pronouns into sex education.

In 2019, when Moore alleges the district required them to hopscotch around their gender identity, they didn’t see it as a huge red flag. Moore had done their research before accepting a position at Kirkwood and thought the district would be an accepting place. Even if they couldn’t present the reality of themselves, they still wanted to do good work and make Kirkwood a better place for trans kids. They “had to believe” there would be a chance to do good.

“I truly wanted to believe if I kept giving the district chances, if I could just find a way to work with them, that we would be able to do something really great, and not just for me,” Moore says.

But Moore says they now perceive those experiences differently. They say it’s like a glass window had been in front of them, and the window recently shattered.

“I can now look back and see that increased scrutiny was not because I was a first-year teacher in the district,” Moore says. “It was not because I’m a teacher with less experience, since that would have been my second-year teaching. I feel strongly there’s evidence to prove that it was probably because I was trans.”

As of Tuesday, none of the teachers have filed suit. An MNEA representative said at this point, she does not believe they intend to, saying the situation they endured was traumatic enough.

In a statement, Ulrich said the district is unable to discuss personnel or ongoing investigations. The district complies with all policies and laws, he said.

“Any employee who feels that they have been unfairly or inequitably treated because of their protected status has recourse and can be assured resolution under policy and the law,” Ulrich said.

‘I don’t think Missouri is ready’

The nonbinary transgender teacher who worked at Robinson Elementary also saw a lot of potential in Kirkwood. Before the district hired them in December for a four-month substitute teacher position, they researched. They say they were discriminated against at their prior job and wanted to find a more accepting work environment. So when they read about Moore’s Mx. title, Kirkwood seemed like a good fit. 

The goodwill didn’t last long. 

click to enlarge Monica Obradovic A substitute teacher at Robinson Elementary, who asked to be anonymous but consented to having their photo taken, says they were fired because of a transphobic and fabricated complaint.

In March, the teacher says their principal called them into their office and notified them they had “deviated from the curriculum” and taught a lesson about gender identity. 

The teacher doesn’t know who reported them. They don’t know what their complaint could have been about. In the end, the teacher says it didn’t matter what they did or didn’t do. They were going to face scrutiny simply because they identified as transgender. 

“A big issue that trans people have is that they feel sexualized [when] they’re just trying to be a person,” the teacher says. 

Deidrick says Kirkwood School District works in many ways to create a safe and inclusive environment. Last August, the district’s eighth-grade curriculum was updated to include lessons on gender expression and identity. The Board of Education approved an audit of equity policies in February.

Moore was at first attracted to Kirkwood’s seemingly inclusive environment too. Prior to their first day, when Moore alleges district administrators told them to not talk about their pronouns, Moore was determined to give the district nothing to scrutinize. 

“Perhaps if I change how I teach, change the way I behave, if I just pour more effort into it, they won’t have things to scrutinize and there’ll be nothing left for us to do but to have that hard discussion,” Moore recalls thinking.

Then they realized none of the other young teachers were asked to compare their classroom library to the school library, as they had been. And no matter how hard they tried, Moore says, they realized the world they reached for was not attainable.

That’s when Moore filed a discrimination complaint. They say it took 151 days after filing the complaint in July 2021 for the district to conclude that they could say they were nonbinary and correct others if referred to by the wrong pronouns or titles. 

That later changed. This past February, Moore says, an administrator read off an email to Moore, purportedly from a lawyer. Moore claims the administrator told them they were no longer allowed to say “I am not a boy or a girl” because of an unspecified “change in Missouri law.”

Moore resigned earlier this month. In a letter to the Kirkwood Board of Education, Moore wrote the board had “won.” 

“You have made it clear to me I do not belong and I am not welcome here,” Moore wrote. 

Moore says they still feel a passion to teach, but they’re taking a break for now. They’re in graduate school pursuing a Master’s in Library and Information Science while earning a certificate in educational game design. 

“I definitely want to teach again,” Moore says. “It’s just a matter of can I get back to it, and where will it be. Because I can’t be in Missouri anymore.” 

But Moore’s former colleague at Robinson Elementary won’t try to become a teacher again. 

“I don’t think Missouri is ready for trans teachers right now,” they say.Even so, they want other queer educators to know progress is still being made.”Even though these violent and hateful things are happening, they’re happening because people are afraid of how normal it’s becoming to just be yourself.”

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