Soon he was a woman who goes by the name Dana Rivers, and who was handed a pink slip from the Center Unified School District in September. A few weeks before the end of the last school year, Rivers told her bosses about her plans to start the 1999-2000 school year as a woman. The school board mailed a letter to more than 2,000 parents explaining that although Rivers' decision would offend some, she was a tenured teacher protected by anti-discrimination laws. Furthermore, Rivers was instructed to avoid discussing the issue with students.
Human beings are naturally inquisitive.
When students heard about their teacher's story, a few who worked closely with her in media classes questioned Rivers about her life as a transsexual. She tried to avoid the topic, but Rivers did not want to perpetuate the misconceptions and stereotypes that plague American attitudes toward gender. She discussed her sex change with students outside of school and eventually gave an interview discussing her failed marriages, recovery from alcoholism and fear of being labeled a freak. That was when the school board reprimanded Rivers by voting 3 to 2 to fire her. By telling Rivers to avoid talking about her transsexuality with her students, the school board implied that she was an abnormal person whose life choices were too odd to discuss.