Va. school district pays $575K settlement to teacher fired for not using trans pronouns

October 3, 2024

A Virginia teacher who was fired for refusing, on religious grounds, to use a student’s self-declared pronouns will receive a $575,000 settlement from his public school district.

The Christian Post reports that Peter Vlaming was fired in 2018 after the West Point School Board accused him of discrimination on the basis of gender identity for refusing to refer to a female student by using male pronouns.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, which provided Vlaming with legal representation, stated that Vlaming was well-liked by his students and did his best to accommodate their needs but, “he couldn’t, in good conscience speak messages he knew were untrue.”

Vlaming filed a complaint against school officials in 2019 but his lawsuit was rejected by the King William Circuit Court, prompting him to appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court in 2021.

Last December, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled in Vlaming’s favor and vacated the earlier ruling while remanding the case to the lower court for further proceedings.

According to the Christian Post, Virginia Supreme Court Justice D. Arthur Kelsey authored the majority opinion affirming that Vlaming had a “legally viable claim” that the school board had violated his religious liberty.

Kelsey wrote, “The circuit court erred in dismissing this claim. We understand, as everyone does, that some limiting principle on this textually unqualified right must be recognized.”

He continued, “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.”

The $575,000 settlement will pay for Vlaming’s legal fees and damages and the firing was ordered to be removed from his work record.

Photo: top, Credit: WRIC.com