OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
2:19pm – Wednesday, October 2, 2024
A former high school French teacher who was previously fired for refusing to acknowledge the preferred pronouns of a student who identifies as transgender has been removed from the Virginia Board of Education by 57% after conservative advocacy groups fought on his behalf. Received a $5,000 settlement.
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The settlement was revealed Monday by a conservative legal advocacy group. Alliance to Defend Freedom. The organization also announced that the school board has expunged Peter Vlaming's termination from his record, a major victory for his teaching career.
After being fired from West Point High School in 2018, the former French teacher filed a lawsuit against the school's management and school board. The court dismissed the claim before any evidence was considered. But the state Supreme Court reinstated it in December.
West Point Public Schools Superintendent Larry Frazier confirmed the settlement, according to reports. daily press“We are pleased that we were able to reach a solution that does not negatively impact West Point students, staff, and the school community,” he said in an email Monday.
Vlaming admitted in her lawsuit that she avoided using pronouns during class and instead called students by their names. Shortly afterward, students, parents and the school requested that Mr. Vlaming use the students' preferred male pronouns.
However, Vlaming argues that the “sincere religious and philosophical” view (which is also a biological fact of science) that “each person's gender is biologically fixed and cannot be changed” Therefore, he insisted on not using student pronouns. He also pointed out that calling students by the opposite sex would be a lie.
“It is important for health care professionals to remember that biological sex change is not possible, but 'legal' sex can be changed,” the report said. Sex and Gender Clinical Advisory Networka coalition of doctors and psychologists. “The prescription of hormone blockers and cross-sex hormones for gender dysphoria should be scientifically scrutinized, as there is currently no strong evidence that they improve long-term outcomes and raise concerns about harm. .”
The seven justices on the state Supreme Court decided two cases: one in which Vlaming claimed the school board breached its contract, and the other in which his freedom to practice religion under the Virginia Constitution was violated. decided to pursue it.
Three justices dissented from the majority, saying the bill was too broad to grant him the right to freely exercise his religion, saying the bill “has the potential to shield anyone from dissenting from virtually any policy.” “This will establish thorough monitoring standards.'' Alternatively, the law can be applied by claiming religious justification for not following any of them. ”
“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. Vlaming claimed in a news release. “I loved teaching French and tried to be polite to every student in the class, but I couldn't say anything that would directly go against my conscience.”
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