RANCHO CORDOVA, CA—Students at Harvey Milk High School are taking advantage of a new policy that forces teachers to recognize their "grade identity" rather than the actual, objective score they've earned in the class so far.
One 11th-grade biology teacher, Mr. Harper, refused to comply with the policy, and is now on suspension pending an investigation into his harmful actions.
The teacher repeatedly referred to a student as "failing" despite her clear insistence that her preferred grade is "A."
"Staci, wake up and do the work, or you're going to fail this class. You have a D minus right now," he said gently as the girl decided to take another nap. "It's time to get serious, because you're going to get an F."
"How dare you!" the student replied. "My lived, expressed grade identity is 'A' and you have to respect that, no matter what the facts say."
The school considered reinstating Harper as long as he apologized, but then the administration realized he taught biology, which is even more hateful and offensive, and so fired him.