Trans teacher in Texas resigns after online attacks: ‘I’m heartbroken’

A trans teacher at a Texas high school has resigned after becoming the target of conservative backlash and online attacks.

Rosie Sandri came out as a trans woman about seven months ago. Her colleagues at Red Oak high school and the Red Oak independent school district were very supportive, she recalled to NBC News.

Sandri posted videos speaking about her life as a trans woman and teacher on TikTok. Last week, the rightwing social media account Libs of TikTok posted one of Sandri’s TikTok videos in which she talks about “gender euphoria”.

“They call me ma’am. They call me miss. They use my correct pronouns and know my correct name, and it is incredibly affirming,” she said in the TikTok video describing her positive experiences with her students.

In the post, Libs of TikTok deadnamed and also misgendered her.

“Would you feel comfortable with this person teaching your kid?” the account wrote.

This post led to a slew of online backlash towards Sandri, including death threats and an email sent to her school address telling her to eat a bullet, she told the Dallas Morning News.

The state representative Brian Harrison, who represents the town where the school is located, shared Libs of TikTok’s post on X, demanding that Sandri be “immediately terminated”.

“Public schools (and the property taxes that fund them) are for education … not leftist indoctrination!” Harrison wrote, before saying he was in communication with the school.

On Monday, Sandri said she came to an agreement with the school that she would resign. The deputy superintendent reportedly told her the school had received threats as well.

“I’m heartbroken. It felt like my hands were tied,” Sandri told the Dallas Morning News. “But my No 1 priority as a teacher is my students, and I can’t put their safety at risk.”

When describing how it felt to sign the resignation, she said “it felt like my dream was being taken away from me.”

Sandri and the Red Oak independent school district did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.