Originally published in The Christian Post
A Virginia public school district has agreed to pay R10 million ($575,000) to resolve a lawsuit brought by a Christian teacher who was fired for refusing to use the self-declared pronouns of a trans-identified student.
The West Point School Board reached a settlement with Peter Vlaming on Monday, in which the school district leadership agreed to pay $575,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees. Additionally, the school board agreed to remove the firing from Vlaming’s record.
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Vlaming was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal nonprofit that has won religious liberty cases at the United States Supreme Court.
“As a teacher, Peter was passionate about the subject he taught, was well-liked by his students, and did his best to accommodate their needs and requests. But he couldn’t in good conscience speak messages that he knew were untrue,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer in a press release.
“We’re pleased to favourably settle this case on behalf of Peter and hope other government and school officials will take note of the high cost involved in failing to respect an American’s constitutionally-protected freedoms.”
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Vlaming was quoted in the ADF press release as saying that while he “gracefully tried to accommodate every student in my class”, he could not “say something that directly violated my conscience”.
“I’m very grateful for the work of my attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom to bring my case to victory, and hope it helps protect every other teacher and professor’s fundamental First Amendment rights,” he added.
For his part, West Point Public Schools Superintendent Larry L Frazier Jr said in an emailed statement that he was glad to reach a settlement “that will not have a negative impact on the students, staff or school community of West Point”.
“As we move forward, WPPS will continue to be a place where all students feel safe, respected, and welcomed on a daily basis,” wrote Frazier, as quoted by The Washington Post.
“Our focus is on all students, and our goal is to continue to build positive relationships throughout our school division community.”
In 2018, Vlaming was fired for refusing on religious grounds to refer to a female student by using male pronouns. He offered to refer to the student by her chosen male name instead. However, the school district accused him of discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
Vlaming filed a complaint against school officials in 2019, with the King William Circuit Court rejecting his lawsuit, prompting Vlaming to appeal to the state Supreme Court in 2021.
Last December, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled in favor of Vlaming, vacating an earlier decision against him and remanded the case to the lower court for further proceedings.
Virginia Supreme Court Justice D Arthur Kelsey authored the majority opinion, saying that Vlaming had “a legally viable claim” that the school board violated his religious liberty.
“The circuit court erred in dismissing this claim,” wrote Kelsey. “We understand, as everyone does, that some limiting principle on this textually unqualified right must be recognised.”
“With equal certitude, however, we know that the limitation cannot simply be to ‘keep your religion to yourself’. It would be alarming indeed to think that in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a religious person needs a constitutional right merely to hold a silent belief or opinion that does not change a thing he does or does not do.”
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