{"id":408022,"date":"2026-09-23T07:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T07:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/408022\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T07:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T07:46:12","slug":"florida-ag-accuses-teacher-of-labeling-student-a-misogynist-over-conservative-views-she-should-be-fired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/408022\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida AG accuses teacher of labeling student a &#8216;misogynist&#8217; over &#8216;conservative views&#8217;: &#8216;She should be fired&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier <a data-ylk=\"slk:alleged that a teacher harassed;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/health\/education\/bullying\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">alleged that a teacher harassed<\/a> and attempted to &#8220;cancel&#8221; an eighth-grade student and labeled him a &#8220;misogynist&#8221; over what Uthmeier described as the student&#8217;s conservative political views.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Uthmeier sent a letter to Sarasota County Schools&#8217; Superintendent Terry Connor and the school board over allegations that a Pine View School history teacher, Liz Ballard, singled out the eighth grade student on multiple occasions over his political views.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ballard often brings up political topics during class despite the student telling her that his parents &#8220;expressly forbid&#8221; him from participating in the <a data-ylk=\"slk:political discussions;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">political discussions<\/a>, according to the letter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The parents&#8217; demand was ignored and the teacher continued to hold political discussions, using the student as the &#8220;conservative perspective in the classroom,&#8221; the attorney general said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a data-ylk=\"slk:Washington Father Sues School District For Denying Religious Opt-out For 5Th Grader From Lgbtq Instruction;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.com\/media\/washington-father-sues-school-district-denying-religious-opt-out-5th-grader-lgbtq-instruction\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Washington Father Sues School District For Denying Religious Opt-out For 5Th Grader From Lgbtq Instruction<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in Tampa, Florida\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/fox_news_text_979\/a92a9598196a667989ca61dd3fbb0bbd.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A teacher allegedly harassed and attempted to &#8220;cancel&#8221; an eighth grade student and labeled him a &#8220;misogynist&#8221; over his conservative political beliefs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The teacher even labeled the student a &#8220;misogynist,&#8221; spread that characterization around the school and &#8220;openly questioned the suitability and influence of the student&#8217;s father,&#8221; Uthmeier said in the letter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a data-ylk=\"slk:Read On The Fox News App;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS\/mvaj7wvj\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Read On The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Uthmeier&#8217;s letter says multiple parents previously initiated HR investigations involving Ballard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">If the bullying and harassment allegations are true, Uthmeier said the teacher would have violated <a data-ylk=\"slk:Florida law;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.com\/category\/us\/us-regions\/southeast\/florida\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Florida law<\/a>, School Board policy and basic ethical principles for educators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Ms. Ballard singled out this student and, in defiance of his parents&#8217; express instructions, pressured him to defend political positions on demand in front of his classmates,&#8221; Uthmeier wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a data-ylk=\"slk:Portland Parent Banned From School Events After Opposing Gender Identity Assignment Files Lawsuit;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.com\/media\/portland-parent-banned-school-events-opposing-gender-identity-assignment-files-lawsuit\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Portland Parent Banned From School Events After Opposing Gender Identity Assignment Files Lawsuit<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/fox_news_text_979\/cf9ccb9f8c4d569b8791e7ef1a4d26a3.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said the teacher should be fired and never teach in Florida again if the allegations are true.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;She made disparaging remarks about his father. And by facilitating the spread of a damaging label throughout the school, she engaged in the reputational destruction of a child. Ms. Ballard&#8217;s deliberate bullying and harassment of this eighth-grade student violated Florida law, School Board policy, and at least six ethical principles,&#8221; he continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He said she should be dismissed from her role with the school district and her educator certificate should be revoked if the allegations turn out to be true.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;If true, she should be fired and never teach in Florida again,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The attorney general gave the superintendent and school board an Oct. 1 deadline to update his office on the actions the district has taken or will take to address the allegations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Connor said Sarasota County Schools received a letter from Uthmeier about allegations involving teacher.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Stock image of a wooden desk in a classroom\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/fox_news_text_979\/6d401320a50d88d8b4f495d2a8b57d50.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The attorney general said there have been multiple HR investigations involving the teacher initiated by parents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a data-ylk=\"slk:Click Here To Download The Fox News App;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Click Here To Download The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;We take the concerns seriously and will respond to the Attorney General&#8217;s Office,&#8221; Connor said in a statement to FOX 13. &#8220;Every student deserves a classroom where they feel safe, respected, and free to learn. No student should face harassment, humiliation, or retaliation because of their beliefs or their family&#8217;s views. Respect for students and parents is fundamental to the trust our community places in our schools.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;The allegations in the letter warrant careful attention. We will examine the relevant facts and records, ensure a fair process for all involved, and take appropriate action based on the findings and requirements. To protect student privacy and the process&#8217;s integrity, we will limit public discussion of individual details. This does not reduce our commitment to accountability. Our focus remains on our students&#8217; well-being, the professionalism of our classrooms, and the confidence families place in Sarasota County Schools,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Original article source: <a data-ylk=\"slk:Florida AG accuses teacher of labeling student a &#039;misogynist&#039; over &#039;conservative views&#039;: &#039;She should be fired&#039;;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/florida-ag-accuses-teacher-labeling-student-misogynist-conservative-views-fired\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Florida AG accuses teacher of labeling student a &#8216;misogynist&#8217; over &#8216;conservative views&#8217;: &#8216;She should be fired&#8217;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier alleged that a teacher harassed and attempted to &#8220;cancel&#8221; an eighth-grade student and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[14437,162082,28,7912,30,29,4260,162079,162080,162081,162077,7331,162078],"class_list":["post-408022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-allegations","tag-eighth-grade-student","tag-florida","tag-florida-attorney-general","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-james-uthmeier","tag-liz-ballard","tag-misogynist","tag-political-views","tag-sarasota-county-schools","tag-teacher","tag-terry-connor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}