Abbott Elementary is an amusing show when it isn’t bashing charter schools. But the ABC sitcom took a disquieting turn in its latest episode with a storyline about a nonbinary teacher. 

In season three’s “Breakup,” teacher Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter) thinks something is off about the new second grade substitute teacher, Cassidy Jeffrey. When Melissa asks, “How long you been a sub?” for example, Cassidy splutters, “Ever since I got my gift card — gift certificate — teaching certificate. Teaching … feels like a gift.”