A former Texas adjunct professor with decades of experience who was reportedly fired for teaching standard concepts about human sexuality and reproduction will soon return to the classroom.
Dr. Johnson Varkey spent 22 years old A look back at his life teaching biological sciences to students at St. Philip’s College, a community college in San Antonio, Texas. During that time, he taught more or less the same basic courses and the same basic biological principles “without any complaints,” he said. CBN News.
That all changed just over a year ago when he was informed that an ethics complaint had been filed against him. He was fired a few weeks later, even though he did not yet understand the charges and had not been given a chance to defend against them.
We can only speculate, but Berkey recalled that in November 2022, four students walked out of the classroom after explaining that biological sex is determined by the X and Y chromosomes. And he wondered if that argument had caused the complaint.
The termination letter sent to him did not mention the incident. However, the lawsuit alleges that Varkey delivered “religious sermons, discriminatory comments against gay and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric, and misogynistic jokes” in the classroom.
Berkey is pastor He is a church pastor who has taught his students that human life begins at conception. Nevertheless, First Liberty Institute, which took up his case, argues that Varkey retains the right to personal religious beliefs and the right to free speech in his capacity as a professor. There is.
“When they saw the termination letter and saw the university accusing him of religious preaching, what they don’t understand is that even if he was, he would have said things like this. I think that means you can’t fire him.” He believes that to be true,” said First Freedom Court Counsel Keisha Russell. Russell also noted that communicating accurate information about chromosomes and pregnancy is “protected by the First Amendment.”
Earlier this year, First Liberty filed a discrimination lawsuit against St. Philip’s College and the Alamo Community College District on Varkey’s behalf. The parties have since “reached a favorable settlement.” press release According to the organization’s announcement, Berkey will be back in the classroom at St. Philip’s by the fall.
“We are pleased that the Alamo Community College District has voluntarily reinstated Dr. Barkey,” Kayla Toney, assistant general counsel at First Liberty, said in a statement. “He is thrilled with this result and we are pleased that ACCD did the right thing. Dr. Varkey looks forward to continuing to educate students at ACCD.”
Several prominent Texas Republicans also celebrated the news. Rep. Chip Roy’s press office called it a “huge victory” and said, “Teachers should never be punished for teaching the truth.”
Roy’s fellow Texans Michael Cloud, Dan Crenshaw, Lance Gooden and Ted Cruz also supported Barkey.
CBN has reached out to the Alamo Community College District for comment.
Do you like Blaze News? Avoid censorship and sign up for our newsletter to get articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. Please register here!
