Ace Rios earned this job. He'd already passed the interview, been granted a keycard for the building, and hung a bright red "Mr. Rios" sign in the classroom he was assigned — before the Fremont-Mills Community School District Board of Education pulled the position out from under him on August 19, 2026, because he is transgender.

At that meeting, parents packed the room to object to Rios's gender identity, and the board voted 3-2 to reject his final confirmation. School board member Jen Wyant, who voted to approve him anyway, said her responsibility was "to make decisions based on the qualifications of the candidate and the needs of our school district." Rios stood before the board and said, "I was super excited to be here. Be there for your children. Teach band. That's what I do. Nothing else."

Now, more than 400 students across the district's middle and high schools are starting the year with no band teacher at all — days after Rios had already set up his classroom for them. One father at the meeting said he worried the district had turned away "the person that changes my daughter into Mozart" simply because of how Rios dresses.

Qualified educators shouldn't lose a job they already earned because of who they are. The Fremont-Mills school board can still fix this by reversing its vote and honoring the hiring decision its own administrators already made.

Sign the petition demanding the Fremont-Mills Community School District Board of Education reinstate Ace Rios as band teacher — before more students start the year without the teacher they were promised.