Vivian Geraghty was an English teacher at a Masillon, Ohio, middle school.
The school adopted a new policy requiring teachers to address students by their preferred pronouns.
NBC News says (here), “About a week before she resigned, two of Geraghty’s students requested that she use names associated ‘with their new gender identities rather than their legal names’ …. One of the students also wanted to be addressed by their preferred pronoun.”
Here’s what happened next:
“Because the request went against her religious beliefs, Geraghty met with principal Kacy Carter ‘in the hope of reaching a solution that would allow her to continue teaching without violating her religious beliefs and constitutional rights.'”
But when Geraghty told Carter she wouldn’t use the students’ preferred pronouns, she was told to change her mind or resign.
Now she’s suing to get her job back, and her lawyers argue “the school did not explore other possible solutions such as moving Geraghty to another classroom or having her address students by their last names.”
Things may be more complicated than this, but just based on these bare facts, I think Geraghty has a case. She doesn’t have a right to impose her personal religious beliefs on students, nor should the school allow her to disrespect the students by ignoring their requests.
But if such a workaround was possible, she could’ve kept her teaching job. Instead, the principal appears to have been more interested in punishing Geraghty for perceived insubordination than trying to accommodate her. That’s not a good and sufficient reason to let her go.