A school district in Riverside County, California will pay $360,000 to settle a lawsuit from a former teacher who was fired because she refused to address students by their “preferred pronouns.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, the teacher, Jessica Tapia, taught physical education at Jurupa Valley High School. In her wrongful termination lawsuit, Tapia claimed that her free speech and religious rights had been violated at the school.
Reportedly, Tapia had refused to use students’ preferred pronouns, allow them to use locker rooms and restrooms that align with their gender identity, and refused to conceal information from parents about their child’s gender identity.
The school district did not admit wrongdoing, but agreed to pay Tapia (via LA Times):
The Jurupa Unified School District did not admit any wrongdoing, but agreed to pay Tapia $285,000, as well as $75,000 for her attorneys’ fees, according to the settlement agreement signed Tuesday. Tapia also agreed not to seek future employment with the district, and both sides agreed to not disparage each other or file future lawsuits.
Julianne Fleischer, one of Tapia’s attorneys, described the settlement as an “incredible victory.”
“Her religious beliefs were not accommodated when they could have been,” said Fleischer, legal counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a nonprofit religious liberties group. “We think it sends a strong message that there’s a price to pay when you ask a teacher to lie and withhold information.”
Reportedly, Tapia’s termination resulted from several social media posts, which students thought were “offensive” and reported to the school. When the school told Tapia to curb her social media usage and agree to the school’s transgender policies, she refused, citing her Christian beliefs, saying the policies went against her views “regarding human sexuality and lying,” according to her lawsuit.
Now, Tapia is helping Advocates for Faith & Freedom’s new campaign called “Teachers Don’t Lie” to help other educators who find themselves in situations were their faith is compromised by school policies.