The Brownsburg Community School Corporation agreed to pay $650,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a teacher who resigned instead of using the preferred name and pronouns of transgender students.
John Kluge, a former music teacher at Brownsburg High School, cited his religion as the reason for not complying with the mandate.
"We hope this settlement shows teachers that they do not have to bow the knee to ideological mandates that violate their religious beliefs," said David Cortman, senior counsel and vice president of U.S. litigation for the Alliance Defending Freedom. "And schools should learn that refusing to accommodate religious employees can be illegal and expensive.”
The ADF says it's "the world’s largest legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, marriage and family, and parental rights."
The Brownsburg school corporation issued a statement saying it had prevailed on most of Kluge's claims during seven years of litigation.
"After the Supreme Court revisited Title VII in 2023, Mr. Kluge’s Title VII claim survived and was heading for trial this spring," the statement said. "After careful and extended deliberation, it was deemed to be in the best interest of Brownsburg Schools’ financial situation to settle this case. We continue to believe that Mr. Kluge’s free speech rights and his rights to freely exercise his religion were not infringed at Brownsburg Schools."
In 2017, Kluge had an agreement with school officials that allowed him to address students by their last name instead of their preferred pronouns and names. But the school corporation later withdrew that religious accommodation, according to the ADF.
Kluge sued in federal court, alleging a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits religious discrimination against employees.
The ADF said as part of the settlement agreement, the Brownsburg school corporation has to train staff about Title VII protections.