A California school district has agreed to pay a former teacher more than $300,000 after allegedly firing her for refusing to use preferred pronouns or hide students’ gender identities from their parents.
Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a non-profit legal group, filed a federal lawsuit last year against California’s Jurupa Unified School District claiming it violated Jessica Tapia’s religious beliefs by depriving her of the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech when it came to the district’s transgender policies.
According to the lawsuit, Tapia, a former P.E. teacher at Jurupa Valley High School, was let go after violating the school district’s policy for refusing to call students by their preferred pronouns and not withholding children’s gender identities from their parents.
The lawsuit details that Tapia was put on administrative leave days before the end of the 2021-2022 school year because of posts on her personal Instagram account that were “brought to the District’s attention.”
“The district claimed … Ms. Tapia’s social media posts were racist, offensive, disrespectful, and mocking towards individuals based upon their sexual orientation,” it reads.
Jurupa Unified School District also claimed she referenced her faith during conversations with students and improperly expressed her opinion on LGBT
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