Vinita Prabakhar said her sudden firing came as a shock.
The English professor at South Florida State College taught Otessa Moshdegh's critically-acclaimed "Bettering Myself" as part of a lesson on unsympathetic and unreliable narrators for nearly ten years.
The story is narrated by an alcoholic teacher who engages in self-destructive behaviors, including joking inappropriately about sex with her students.
But this spring was the first time an administrator had taken issue with the piece of literature that is widely taught in other classrooms, Prabakhar said.
After a meeting with South Florida State College President Fred Hawkins and other faculty, who had vouched for Prabakhar's value to the department, she was terminated.
"I learned that he was somehow intent on letting me go," said Prabakhar.
The lawsuit, which names Hawkins and the college board of trustees as defendants, said Hawkins had called the story "political."
Hawkins, who was previously a Republican state representative, is among a number of higher education leaders that drew scrutiny for the political nature of their appointments by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
South Florida State College did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prabakhar's firing comes as free speech and academic freedom is increasingly being challenged in higher education.
In 2022, DeSantis sought to limit discussion about racism and sexism in classrooms through the Stop WOKE Act. Even though federal judges prevented the law from being implemented in higher ed institutions, other laws against diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, and political pressure continue to discourage certain discussions.
Greg Greubel, a senior attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, who is representing Prabakhar, said the political climate has chilled the ability of professors "to engage in difficult discussions on difficult topics."
"The entire purpose of college is to be challenged on what you believe and to think critically. You're not supposed to go there to be told what to think. You're supposed to go there to learn how to think," said Greubel.
That's what Prabakhar said she was trying to do in her classroom.
"Discussion in critical thinking and offering students a language with which to discuss difficult things — it's the way to not be undone by something," she said.
Prabakhar has been an English professor for nearly two decades and previously taught at Ithaca College in New York. She said she moved to Highlands County in 2023 to be closer to her family.
The lawsuit stated Prabakhar was never the subject of formal discipline in any of her teaching positions, and she received positive reviews in her student evaluations.
On Rate My Professors, a popular website students use to grade their instructors, Prabakhar has three reviews and an overall rating of 5/5.
She was expected to serve as the Faculty Council President for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year after SFSC vice president of academic affairs invited her prior to her termination.
Lawsuit details events leading up to termination
The lawsuit stated that no formal complaint was lodged against Prabakhar, nor did the administration attempt to create a plan of action to remedy the situation before her firing.
The sequence of events begins on Feb. 2 when a student had emailed Prabakhar about how the story made them feel "a bit uncomfortable," to which Prabakhar responded, "Hi , I agree this can be a challenging story; why don’t we talk more about this in class tomorrow?"
The next day, the student participated in the class discussion.
Prabakhar checked in with the student, who acknowledged college reading would require adjusting to more challenging material than what they encountered in high school.
Prabakhar said she reassured the student they could discuss classroom assignments with her any time. The next few days, class resumed as normal, the lawsuit said.
Prabakhar told WUSF she informed her Department Chair about the student's concerns, nonetheless.
According to the suit, it's believed the student spoke with another administrator or professor about the assignment, who brought it to the attention of administrators.
It's unclear the nature of the conversation between the student and staff member, and whether the student authorized them to talk about the situation, the suit stated.
The suit said proper protocol was not followed in this situation. According to school policy, the dean will typically notify the employee in writing about a problem and copies will be sent to the employee's supervisor and director of human resources.
Any corrective action should align with the school's policy and allow reasonable time for change, the policy says.
Prabakhar said HR had no record of any written complaint and she was not told of any corrective action plan.
In the days following, Prabakhar was asked by her department chair to write up a rationale for including "Bettering Myself" in her teachings.
The suit said the department chair and dean of arts and sciences agreed on the academic merits of the story and that it was "not intended for shock value."
Yet, Prabakhar learned that Hawkins was still intent on firing her.
On Feb. 11, she met with Hawkins. The chair, dean, vice president and HR director were also present.
According to the suit, Hawkins told Prabahkar he did not "want to see this story again" and that he wouldn't want his college-aged daughter reading it.
Prabakhar said Hawkins had characterized the situation as "political."
The following day, the suit said, Prabakhar apologized directly to Hawkins. While he accepted her apology, he said he had been in contact "with Tallahassee" and the college's board of trustees.
That same day, Prabakhar was suspended with pay until the end of her contract, which would not be renewed.
Prabakhar said she followed the proper procedures for getting her syllabus approved and had the trust of her higher ups.
"I'm not suggesting that professors should just be, you know, out in the pasture and teaching anything they want at any time," she said. "An institution has a right to oversight, and there are mechanisms. You have to submit syllabi for approval. There are course outcomes. There are learning outcomes. All of that is fair, and I did all of those things."
