Former Jackson Local teacher sues school district over gender & names directives
A former Jackson Memorial Middle School teacher said she was forced to resign when she refused to address two students by names "inconsistent" with their biological sex.
On Monday, attorneys for Alliance Defending Freedom filed a a lawsuit in federal court in Akron on behalf of Vivian Geraghty, who'd taught English in the school of sixth, seventh and eighth graders.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, alleges she was forced to resign, because complying with Jackson Local Schools' gender policies would have contradicted her religious beliefs.
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“No school official can force a teacher to set her religious beliefs aside in order to keep her job," Logan Spena, an Alliance attorney, said in a press release. "The school tried to force Vivian to recite as true the school’s viewpoint on issues that go to the foundation of morality and human identity, like what makes us male or female ... "
Spena called the district's actions against Geraghty unconstitutional, adding "it was her Christian faith that made her unable to participate in her students’ social transition.”
Ages of middle school students typically range between 11 and 14 years old.
Todd Porter, Jackson Local's director of communications, provided an emailed statement: "This district always will strive to provide a safe, comfortable environment for all of our nearly 6,000 students in which to learn. We have engaged legal counsel and we will have no further comment on pending litigation."
Along with the lawsuit, Geraghty's attorneys filed a request for a preliminary junction, which among other demands, requests the school district hire her back immediately.
The school board, along with Superintendent Chris DiLoreto, Curriculum Director Monica Myers and Middle School Principal Kacy Carter, are named as defendants in the suit.
Circumstances that led to Jackson teacher's resignation
According to the lawsuit, Geraghty had taught in Jackson since 2020, and was "aware that using the new name and pronouns that a student requests as a part of expressing a new gender identity is called 'social transition.'" However, she'd been able to teach without compromising her Christian beliefs until Aug. 26, when she resigned.
Details surrounding the issue, according to the suit:
At the beginning of this school year, two students asked Geraghty to "participate in their social transition" by using names associated with new gender identities rather than their legal names. And one asked to be referenced with pronouns inconsistent with the student’s sex.
Then, a week later on Aug. 22, a school counselor emailed several teachers, including Geraghty, instructing them to participate in the social transition of the two middle-schoolers.
Geraghty said she approached school principal Kacy Carter on Aug. 26 in hopes of finding a satisfactory resolution, though none was reached. Geraghty said she was called back to the office a short time later, for a meeting with the principal, as well as Monica Myers, director of curriculum.
Geraghty said she explained her Christian religious beliefs to both. Geraghty said Carter and Myers told her "she would be required to put her beliefs aside as a public servant."
Geraghty said she then returned to her classroom, but was summoned to the office again 30 minutes later.
"Defendant Carter immediately handed Ms. Geraghty a laptop andordered her to draft her letter of resignation in the adjoining room for immediatesubmission," the suit alleges.
The suit accuses district officials of not entertaining discussion about a possible accommodation, or compromise, such as allowing Geraghty to simply avoid using pronouns and using last names only.
"By 11:30 a.m. — within two hours of Ms. Geraghty’s initial conversationwith Defendant Carter — Ms. Geraghty was escorted out of the building after having been forced to resign."
Alliance Defending Freedom mission
A phone call to the Alliance, requesting comment for this story, was not immediately returned on Tuesday.
According to its website, the non-profit organization is "the world's largest legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, parental rights, and God's design for marriage and family."
A story earlier this year in Slate magazine said the group is "best known for defending the Christian cake shop owners who fought for the right to discriminate against gay customers in the 2018 Masterpiece Cakeshop U.S. Supreme Court case."
The story noted the Alliance has been involved in a number of other high-profile religious freedom cases; has become a force in anti-trans bills in state houses; and that according to a New York Times piece, Alliance Chief Executive Michael Farris "played a critical behind-the-scenes role in drafting the lawsuit Republican state attorneys filed to overturn the 2020 presidential election."
In its press release about the Jackson lawsuit, Alliance Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the group's Center for Academic Freedom, said "Jackson Local School District officials require their teachers to immediately and personally validate a child’s gender transition even if doing so violates their religious beliefs, conscience, or sound judgment."
He added "Increasing evidence suggests that this approach may lead adolescents to unnecessarily pursue dangerous medical interventions like puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, or life-altering surgeries."
A story this year in Psychology Today cites 16 studies and research, which suggest gender-affirming care in adolescents provides improved mental health. It also noted all major health organizations oppose legislation that would ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender teens.
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or tim.botos@cantonrep.com On Twitter: @tbotosREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Former Jackson teacher files suit over gender names, religious freedom
