Two American Christian teachers who were fired for opposing their school’s transgender policy, will receive a payout of around one million Australian dollars from the Oregon school district that sacked them.
Rachel Sager and Katie Medart had proposed an alternative policy, relating to pronoun use and bathroom use at their school.
But following complaints from hostile staff members, they were dismissed from their jobs.
Earlier this year, an appeals court found the school district had breached their constitutional right to express opinions on fundamental issues of public concern, and ordered a lower court to reconsider their case.
Instead, that ruling convinced the Grants Pass School District to reconsider the case and seek a settlement with the teachers.
BACKGROUND TO THEIR CASE
The pair had worked in the education field for several years, including at North Middle School in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Ms. Sager served as assistant principal and Ms. Medart taught health and science.
They criticised their school’s policy, which allowed trans-identifying students to use bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
Together, they started the grassroots organisation “I Resolve” to propose gender identity education policies that respected the rights of students, parents, and teachers.
SACKED TEACHERS’ ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL FOR MANAGING GENDER ISSUES
Their proposals advocated for teachers to abide by their conscience and refrain from using pronouns inconsistent with a student’s biological sex.
“I Resolve” suggested that locker rooms, showers, and restrooms be designated, based on a person’s biological gender.
The group also endorsed and gave students the option to request access to private restrooms and locker rooms.
School officials and other staff weren’t impressed by their campaign and the educators were initially suspended, and then sacked from their jobs,
The teachers alleged it was for expressing their opinions on a personal online platform, when they weren’t acting as representatives of the school district.
TEACHERS FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE SCHOOL
Working together, attorneys from both the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) and Christian legal advocates Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit in 2023, urging the US Court of Appeals to protect the educators’ First Amendment right to free speech and religion.
in June this year, the court ruled in their favour by partially vacating the lower court’s decision and remanding the case for trial.
It found the School District had failed to show a “substantial” disruption to the school environment that outweighed the free speech rights of the terminated employees.
“Vigilance is necessary to ensure that public employers do not use authority over employees to silence discourse, not because it hampers public functions, but simply because superiors disagree with the content of employees’ speech,” the court affirmed in its opinion.
SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFERS TEACHERS A MILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT
This month, ADF lawyers announced that the Grants Pass School District agreed to pay the million dollars in damages and attorneys’ fees for the wrongful termination of Ms. Sager and Ms. Medart.
As part of the settlement, the School District agreed to issue a public statement acknowledging that the educators’ wrongful termination fell short of its standards and responsibilities.
It also agreed to provide positive letters of recommendation for both teachers; revise the district’s policy to comply with the First Amendment; and to remove negative references from their personnel files.
“The District and Board acknowledged that their handling of this matter fell short of their standards and responsibilities,” the public statement reads.
DETAILS OF SCHOOL DISTRICT’S SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
“The District affirms employees’ rights to speak as private citizens on matters of public concern,” it continued.
“The District has revised its policy to protect employees’ freedom and remain compliant with federal and Oregon law.”
“It has expanded access to gender-neutral, single-occupant restroom facilities.”
“The District also has practices in place to protect employee religious freedom,” it concluded.
TEACHERS’ LAWYERS WELCOME THE LEGAL VICTORY
ADF attorneys applauded the appeal court’s decision.
“Educators are free to express opinions on fundamental issues of public concern like gender identity education policy, that implicate the freedoms of teachers, parents, and students,” said ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann.
“The Grants Pass School District is taking the right step by acknowledging that teachers don’t give up their First Amendment rights when they set foot on school property.”
“Public schools can’t retaliate against speech simply because they disagree with what’s said.”
CHRISTIAN LEADERS PRAISE TEACHERS FOR TAKING A COURAGEOUS STAND
Evangelist Franklin Graham wrote: “God bless these teachers for taking a stand for Biblically-based views on gender and sexuality and thank you Alliance Defending Freedom for your important work to defend our freedoms!”
Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen praised the teachers for their courage and conviction.
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