Court: Teacher's Religious Rights Not Infringed by Trans Students' Names, Pronouns [View all]

Source: The Advocate

Court: Teacher’s Religious Rights Not Infringed by Trans Students’ Names, Pronouns

BY CHRISTOPHER WIGGINS
APRIL 10 2023 1:16 PM EST

On Friday, a federal appeals court ruled that an Indiana school district did not violate a former music teacher’s rights by forcing him to resign after refusing to use the names of transgender students.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a prior federal judge’s ruling.

As a teacher, John Kluge claimed that he would be forced to violate his religious rights by respecting the names and pronouns of transgender students.

In 2014, Kluge began teaching music and orchestra at Brownsburg High School, northwest of Indianapolis. Teachers were required to use pronouns and names listed in the school’s official student database, where parent and doctor letters could be used to change them.

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In its ruling, the court noted that district officials tried to consider Kluge’s religious objection but realized that using last names by the music teacher disrupted the learning environment. The court found that this caused students to feel disrespected, targeted, and dehumanized.

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Read more: https://www.advocate.com/law/indiana-pronoun-religious-freedom

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Related: John M. Kluge v Brownsburg Community School Corp.