The West Point, Virginia, school board has agreed to pay $575,000 in damages and attorney fees to a teacher who was fired for refusing to refer to a transgender student by his preferred pronouns.
French teacher Peter Vlaming was unanimously fired by the West Point School Board in December 2018 for refusing to use pronouns for a transgender student.
In 2019, he filed a lawsuit claiming his firing violated his First Amendment rights. On Monday, the school board settled the lawsuit, which had been fought in multiple courts over several months. every virginia mercury:
The agreement came months after the Virginia Supreme Court returned Mr. Vlaming's suit was dismissed by the King William Circuit Court. The lower court considered that Mr. Vlaming lacked a legitimate basis for the suit.
But the Supreme Court ruled in December that the school board had violated Vlaming's rights.
Vlaming's lawsuit alleges “constitutional, statutory, and breach of contract claims” against the school district, Judge D. Arthur Kelsey wrote in an opinion explaining the high court's decision.
The Alliance Defending Liberty, a conservative Christian legal organization that represented Vlaming, said Peter was fired because of unspeakable matters.
“Peter wasn't fired for saying something; he was fired for something. couldn't do it say. “The school board violated their First Amendment rights under the Virginia Constitution and Commonwealth law,” said Tyson Langhofer, ADF Senior Counsel and Director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom.
“As a teacher, Peter was passionate about the subjects he taught, was well-liked by his students, and did his best to accommodate their needs and wishes. However, in good conscience, he You cannot speak a message that you know is false, and school boards and government officials cannot punish someone for that,” Langhofer added.
FILE/West Point Virginia High School teacher Peter Vlaming (right) speaks with attorneys Tyson Langhofer (center) and Jordan Lawrence (left) outside the courtroom after arguments in the Virginia Supreme Court. Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, in Richmond. Virginia (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
“We are pleased to be able to resolve this case favorably on Peter's behalf and to encourage other governments and school officials to recognize the high cost of not respecting Americans' constitutionally protected freedoms.” I hope you do.”
The school board also erased Vlaming's firing record and changed its policy to comply with rules set by President Glenn Youngkin's administration, which reversed policies set by former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam.
“I was unfairly fired from my teaching job because of my religious beliefs, which put me in conflict with school administrators who required teachers to believe only one view of gender identity, the view they preferred. for setting me on a course to do so,” Vlaming said in a statement.
