by Kate Anderson
Ohio middle school teacher Vivian Geraghty filed a lawsuit after allegedly being fired for refusing to violate her religious beliefs by using preferred pronouns.
Geraghty, a former teacher at Jackson Memorial Middle School, was told she was required to use two students’ new pronouns and their preferred names in class, according to the lawsuit. Geraghty was fired after refusing to do so, at which point she sued the school’s Board of Directors, principal Kacy Carter and Monica Myers, the director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Alliance Defending Freedom legal counsel Logan Spena told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a prepared statement that the school could have worked out a solution with Geraghty but refused to do so because they want to “implement a woke ideology.”
“Schools can’t force teachers to set their religious beliefs aside just to keep a job and they also can’t force teachers to say things that are untrue and harmful to students,” he said.
On Aug. 16 Geraghty was informed that two students were changing their pronouns and names, according to the lawsuit. On Aug. 22 Geraghty and the other teachers were directed to use the students’ preferred pronouns and chosen names by the school counselor.
Geraghty met with Carter on Aug. 26 to discuss ways to respect the students’ and Geraghty’s beliefs, according to the lawsuit. Following that meeting, Carter summoned Geraghty to another meeting with Myers.
During the meeting Geraghty was required to explain her Christian faith and why that meant she could not comply by using the new pronouns, according to the lawsuit. Geraghty proceeded to explain that her faith did not align with changing one’s pronouns, but was quickly dismissed.
“Defendants Carter and Myers told Ms. Geraghty that ‘she would be required to put her beliefs aside as a public servant,’” the lawsuit stated. “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.”
Geraghty was accused of “insubordination” and informed that she would no longer be allowed to teach, according to the lawsuit. Later that day, Carter told Geraghty to write a letter of resignation and was subsequently removed from the school.
“Vivian loves her students and only wants what’s best for them, but the school doesn’t care about that – otherwise, they would have worked with Vivian instead of immediately forcing her to resign,” Spena concluded. “That’s unconstitutional.”
ADF, Geraghty, Carter and Myers did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Kate Anderson is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Teacher and Students” by Pavel Danilyuk.
