Teacher Suspended For Refusing To Use Trans Student’s Preferred Pronouns Wins $95K In Settlement

A Kansas teacher who was suspended after she refused to use a trans student’s preferred pronouns has won $95k in settlement from the school district.

Pamela Ricard, a now-retired math teacher at Fort Riley Middle School in the Geary County school district filed a lawsuit after she was reprimanded and suspended “for addressing a biologically female student by the student’s legal, and enrolled, last name,” NBC News reported.

After Geary County school district agreed to pay the settlement Wednesday for violating Ricard’s First Amendment rights, Alliance Defending Freedom, (ADF) the well-known anti-LGBTQ legal advocacy group that fought for Ricard withdrew the lawsuit.

The lawsuit argued that the school officials wanted Ricard to use students’ preferred gender pronouns in classrooms but asked her not to disclose it to the parents. However, Ricard said the school’s policies conflicted with her Christian beliefs and “violated her conscience.”

“Plaintiff believes that addressing students one way at school and a different way when speaking to their parents is dishonest. Being dishonest violates her sincere religious beliefs,” a judge observed, NY Daily News reported.

Ricard was suspended for three days in April 2021. However, as part of the settlement deal, the school has now agreed to issue a statement saying, Ricard does not have any disciplinary actions against her during her retirement.

“We’re pleased to settle this case favorably on behalf of Pam, and we hope that it will encourage school districts across the country to support the constitutionally protected freedom of teachers to teach and communicate honestly with both children and parents,” Tyson Langhofer, the director of ADF told the outlet.

A federal court ruled in May said that Ricard is “free to speak without violating her conscience by communicating with parents in a manner consistent with how she is required to address the students at school.”

The court also ordered the school district to change its policy where the teachers are not allowed to disclose students’ preferred names and pronouns to their parents. Meanwhile, it is unclear how the school district stands now on the policies.