A Virginia school board has agreed to pay $575,000 in damages and legal fees to settle a lawsuit brought by former high school French teacher Peter Vlaming, who was dismissed after refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns, citing religious convictions.
The settlement, announced on Sept. 30 by the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), resolves the case Vlaming filed against the West Point School Board. Vlaming argued that his dismissal violated his First Amendment rights after he refused to comply with the superintendent’s demand that he refer to a transgender student by pronouns inconsistent with the student’s biological sex….