(The Center Square) – A former Indiana high school music teacher who refused to use students’ self-identifying gender pronouns in school had his case brought before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit this week after his school district fired him in 2018.
The case brought before the appellate court on Wednesday centers on whether Brownsburg High School teacher John Kluge was wrongfully fired for refusing to use pronouns for students that did not align with their biological sex.
Kluge taught at the school in Brownsburg, Indiana, for four years, during which time the school changed its policy to require teachers to refer to transgender-identifying students with their preferred pronouns.
Before the change, Kluge was granted a religious accommodation under federal employment discrimination law to refer to all of his students using their last names, thus omitting the use of pronouns for all students. That continued for a year.
“We agree that John may use last name only to address students,” administrators acknowledged according to court documents, “You are also directed not to attempt to counsel or advise students on his/her lifestyle choices.”
Craig Lee, a fellow teacher at BHS, who also served as faculty advisor of the Equality Alliance club, “a student club that meets on a weekly basis to discuss issues that impact the LGBTQ community and provides a safe space for students who identify as LGBTQ,” first brought attention to Kluge’s use of the last names to the administration, later testifying about its effects.
“Mr. Kluge’s behavior was a frequent topic of conversation during Equality Alliance meetings. Students in Mr. Kluge’s class said that they found not being called by their first names to be insulting and disrespectful,” Lee said according to court documents.
“Transgender students felt strongly that they wanted others to acknowledge their corrected names, and Mr. Kluge’s refusal to do so hurt them,” Lee told the court in a declaration. “These students also felt like it was their presence that caused Mr. Kluge’s behavior, which made them feel isolated and targeted. I relayed the students’ concerns to the principal of [BHS] and the assistant superintendent of [BCSC].”
According to Alliance Defending Freedom, a non-profit legal organization representing Kluge, the school reversed its decision shortly after, which it says ultimately led to Kluge’s termination.
“After the Brownsburg Community School Corporation terminated Kluge’s employment because of his sincerely held religious beliefs, he appealed to the 7th Circuit in July 2022 after the lower court initially ruled against him,” the ADF said in a statement.
“A year later, the appeals court sent the case back to the district court in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Groff v. DeJoy; however, the district court once again denied Kluge’s request to protect his religious freedom,” the ADF said. “Kluge filed his appeal with the 7th Circuit in July, asking the court once again to reverse the lower court decision.”
Kluge’s lawyers, including Dave Cortman, senior counsel and vice president of U.S. litigation for ADF, shared why the team is seeking another appeal after Groff v. DeJoy was decided in June 2023.
“The last time the Seventh Circuit heard John’s case, the standard of undue hardship that Brownsburg Community School Corporation had to prove was minimal, and the Court ruled against John,” Cortman told The Center Square in an email. “Now, because of Groff v. DeJoy, the standard of undue hardship is much higher, and Brownsburg’s primary evidence (student complaints) is ‘off the table.’ This is one of the first appeals to consider the change of standard since the Groff decision, and we are optimistic about winning our case.”
Cortman also shared the central focus of the opening arguments on Wednesday.
“In our arguments, I emphasized that the whole point of Title VII is that people of faith shouldn’t have to violate their beliefs to keep their jobs,” Cortman said in an email to The Center Square. “From the very start, Brownsburg forced John to choose between his religious beliefs and his job, which is discriminatory and illegal.”
“No teacher should have to lie to their students, and nobody should have to speak a government message that violates their beliefs to keep their job,” Cortman said.
Cortman also added how the school’s actions have affected Kluge’s career.
“John’s termination ended the career that he loved. He studied and obtained two degrees to become an orchestra teacher, earning his masters in music theory,” Cortman wrote. “His termination cut a promising career short and deprived students of an excellent teacher – his students loved him, and one of his former students studied to be an orchestra teacher because of John.”
• This story first published at Chalkboard News which, like The Center Square, is published by the Franklin News Foundation