Teacher fired for refusing to use trans student’s pronouns awarded $575K in lawsuit
By Chris Nesi,
5 hours ago
A Virginia school board must fork over more than $500,000 to a former French teacher who was fired in 2018 for refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns.
The teacher, Peter Vlaming, along with Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit against the district, arguing his termination was a violation of his religious beliefs.
Peter Vlaming, a former French teacher in the West Point School District in Virginia, prevailed in a lawsuit he filed after he was fired in 2018 for not using a trans student’s preferred pronouns. AP
“I was wrongfully fired from my teaching job because my religious beliefs put me on a collision course with school administrators who mandated that teachers ascribe to only one perspective on gender identity—their preferred view,” Vlaming said in a statement following the settlement agreement.
“I loved teaching French and gracefully tried to accommodate every student in my class, but I couldn’t say something that directly violated my conscience.”
The board fired Vlaming when he said he couldn’t in good conscience comply with the district superintendent’s demand he refer to a student by a pronoun inconsistent with their biological sex, according to ADF.
He “attempted to accommodate” the trans student by using his chosen name while avoiding using pronouns altogether, but the student, his parents and the school said he was required to use male pronouns, claiming refusal would violate the school’s anti-discrimination rules.
As part of the terms of the settlement, the West Point School Board will pay the former teacher $575,000 in damages and legal fees as well as expunge the wrongful dismissal from his record.
He sued the district along with Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), arguing his termination was a violation of his religious beliefs. AP
In a shift unrelated to the suit, the district also said it will alter its policies to align with state education guidelines put in place by Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, which allows K-12 teachers in the state to refer to transgender students by their birth name and gender regardless of their gender identity, The Hill writes.
“Peter wasn’t fired for something he said; he was fired for something he couldn’t say. The school board violated his First Amendment rights under the Virginia Constitution and commonwealth law,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer in a statement.
“As a teacher, Peter was passionate about the subject he taught, was well-liked by his students, and did his best to accommodate their needs and requests. But he couldn’t in good conscience speak messages that he knew were untrue, and no school board or government official can punish someone for that reason.”
West Point Public Schools Superintendent Larry L. Frazier Jr. told the Washington Post he was glad to have resolved the matter in a way that “will not have a negative impact on the students, staff or school community of West Point.”
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