School Fired Teacher Who Refused To Use Preferred Pronouns

An Ohio middle school teacher sued her school district Monday, accusing the district of violating her First Amendment rights after she was abruptly fired for refusing to affirm students’ stated gender identity or use their preferred pronouns.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Vivian Geraghty, a former teacher at Jackson Memorial Middle School in Massillon, Ohio, accused administrators at the school and Jackson Local Schools of violating her right to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion when they fired her earlier this year for refusing to address two students who had claimed to have new gender identities by their preferred pronouns and names.

The lawsuit says Geraghty, who is represented by the conservative legal group the Alliance Defending Freedom, was informed on Aug. 16 that two of her students wished to be addressed by new names and pronouns that did not correspond to their sex. Six days later, on Aug. 22, the school counselor directed Geraghty and other teachers to “participate in the social transition of the two students.” . . .

Carter allegedly informed Geraghty at that meeting that he avoided using pronouns whenever a student sought to be addressed by pronouns that did not correspond to their biological sex. But half an hour later, Geraghty was again summoned to Carter’s office, where she was asked by Carter and Monica Myers, the director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment for Jackson Local School District, to explain her Christian religious beliefs and why she could not cooperate with the social transition of the two students.

“After Ms. Geraghty explained her beliefs … Defendants Carter and Myers told Ms. Geraghty that ‘she would be required to put her beliefs aside as a public servant,'” the lawsuit says. “Ms. Geraghty explained that she could not put her beliefs aside, and she did not believe she could be compelled to do so as a condition of public service.” (Read more from “School Fired Teacher Who Refused To Use Preferred Pronouns” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.