An Ohio Middle School teacher claims she was forced to resign because she refused to participate in the “social transition” of transgender students by calling them by their preferred names and pronouns.
Vivian Geraghty said she wouldn’t speak to students in a way that violated her sincerely held religious beliefs.
She tried to reach an accommodation with her managers, but they said her unwillingness to participate was ‘insubordination’ and told her to resign immediately.
CBN News reports Ms. Geraghty has filed a lawsuit over the school’s policy that forces teachers to support the gender transition of students.
Her lawyers from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) insist schools cannot force teachers to set their religious beliefs aside just to keep their jobs.
“The school tried to force Vivian to recite as true 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. The First Amendment prohibits that abuse of power,” said ADF Legal Counsel Logan Spena.
“Jackson Local School District officials forced Vivian to resign because she resisted this unconstitutional command and explained that it was her Christian faith that made her unable to participate in her students’ social transition,” Mr. Spena added.
The dispute began when two students and the school counsellor asked Ms. Geraghty and other teachers to participate in the pupils’ social transition.
Ms. Geraghty approached the principal with the hope of reaching a solution that would allow her to continue teaching her class without personally affirming the students’ gender identity.
The principal and his superior told her she would be required to put her beliefs aside as a public servant and that continuing to teach consistent with her beliefs would “not work in a district like Jackson.”
“Jackson Local School District officials require their teachers to immediately and personally validate a child’s gender transition even if doing so violates their religious beliefs, conscience, or sound judgment,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer.
“Vivian treated every student with equality and respect, and it was unlawful for school officials to terminate her employment simply because she wanted to avoid using her voice to validate ideas that violate her faith and jeopardise her students’ well-being,” he explained.
