(The Lion)–A former music teacher won $650,000 in a lawsuit settlement Monday after an Indiana high school forced his resignation because he declined to use transgender terms for his students.
John Kluge, a former orchestra teacher at Brownsburg High School, was forced to resign when the school disregarded his religious accommodation and required him to follow transgender policies. Kluge, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a lawsuit against the school in 2019.
“As a committed Christian, John couldn’t comply with the policy in good conscience,” ADF Media Specialist Elizabeth Martin said in a video. “Denying reality in line to children struggling with gender dysphoria would both hurt his students and violate his faith.”
Kluge had been on staff at Brownsburg since 2014. The school first required the use of gender pronouns that differed from a child’s biological sex in 2017, according to the local Fox News outlet.
Kluge requested a religious accommodation, proposing he refer to all students by their last names, and the school agreed. But in January of 2018, the school district “reaffirmed” its policy and dismissed Kluge’s accommodation, telling him he could either abide by the transgender expectations, resign or be fired. Kluge resigned to avoid official termination.
The lawsuit argued Brownsburg violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits religious discrimination against employees, according to ADF’s press release. Litigation dragged on for several years, with various courts siding with Brownsburg, saying the school did not force Kluge’s resignation.
But the United States Supreme Court upheld religious accommodations for employees of faith in a separate case in 2023, which impacted the trajectory of Kluge’s suit. Consequently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled in August that Kluge’s case should appear before a jury, according to ADF’s press release.
After this ruling, Brownsburg agreed to award Kluge financial dues to settle the suit.
“After almost five and a half years, common sense has prevailed at Brownsburg,” ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman said in a statement. “This settlement confirms what the law has always said: Public schools cannot force teachers to violate their religious beliefs.”
Additionally, as part of the settlement, Brownsburg agreed to train its staff on the religious protections Title VII grants employees.
“Title VII requires employers to accommodate their employees’ religious beliefs and practices. When they fail to do so – or worse, announce that they will grant no religious accommodations, as Brownsburg did – they can be held accountable,” Corman said. “We hope this settlement shows teachers that they do not have to bow the knee to ideological mandates that violate their religious beliefs.”
