A middle school teacher in Ohio will reportedly receive $450,000 in compensation after she resigned due to her refusal to address two transgender pupils by their preferred names and pronouns.
In December, the Jackson Local School District reached a settlement with Vivian Geraghty, a teacher who claimed in a 2022 lawsuit that her First Amendment rights were violated when she was instructed to resign from a middle school language arts position.
The agreement is the result of a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in August, which held that the school’s “pronoun practice was not neutral” and that requiring Geraghty to use students’ preferred names constituted “compelled speech.”
“The school tried to force Vivian to accept and repeat the school’s viewpoint on issues that go to the foundation of morality and human identity, like what makes us male or female, by ordering her to personally participate in the social transition of her students,” a statement from the alliance defending freedom read.
Two of Geraghty’s pupils requested that she refer to them by names that were not on the school’s roster on the first day of the school year in August 2022, a week prior to her resignation, a request which Geraghty refused.
The principal of the middle school, Kacy Carter, then met with the language arts teacher.
Geraghty informed the principal that her religious beliefs would prevent her from concurring with the students’ requests.
She was subsequently summoned to a second meeting with Carter and Monica Myers, a district employee. According to the filing, if Geraghty did not agree to the students’ preferred names, “it was going to be a problem.”
The three individuals’ accounts of the meeting diverge from this point onward; however, Geraghty was instructed to return to her classroom after she reiterated her refusal to comply.
The teacher was summoned to a third meeting with Carter and Myers shortly thereafter.
Carter and Myers assert that Geraghty reiterated that she would refrain from employing her preferable names.
Alliance Defending Freedom contended that the school did not suggest alternative solutions, such as relocating the teacher to a different classroom or requiring her to address pupils by their last names.
The suit also alleged that the district has implemented a pronoun policy that is not being enforced fairly.
The settlement is a major win in the eyes of many conservatives who prioritize protecting religious liberty.
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