A French teacher who refused to use a transgender student’s pronouns has reached a staggering $575,000 settlement with the Virginia school that fired him.
Peter Vlaming, who taught at West Point High School for about seven years, was fired in 2019 after refusing to use his/her pronouns for a student who had transferred.
Instead, Vlaming insisted on using the student’s preferred name, prompting school administrators to order him to stop avoiding the pronouns. When Vlaming refused to give in, he was fired.
The ousted French teacher then filed a blockbuster $1 million lawsuit against the West Point School Board.
Peter Vlaming, who taught at West Point for about seven years, was fired in 2019 after refusing to use his/her pronouns for a student who had transferred
The ousted French teacher then filed a $1 million lawsuit against the West Point School Board
The settlement was signed on Monday between Vlaming, who now works in publishing, and the school board.
The settlement dictated that the teacher would receive $575,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees. West Point also removed Fleming’s shooting from its record.
Vlaming was represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative nonprofit legal group.
In one statementthe French teacher said he was fired from his position because of “religious beliefs.”
“I was wrongfully fired from my teaching job because my religious beliefs put me on a collision course with school administrators who demanded that teachers assign only one perspective on gender identity: their preferred view,” Vlaming said.
He further stated that he “enjoyed” teaching French and that he “tried to accommodate every student in an elegant way” in his class.
Vlaming insisted on using the student’s preferred name, prompting school administrators to order him to stop avoiding the pronouns. When Vlaming refused to give in, he was fired
“But I couldn’t say something that directly violated my conscience,” Vlaming said before thanking his lawyers.
Tyson Langhofer, the senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, was more blunt.
“Peter wasn’t fired because of something he said; he was fired for something he couldn’t say. The school board violated its First Amendment rights under the Virginia Constitution and Commonwealth law,” Langhofer said.
Last December, the Virginia Supreme Court reinstated Vlaming’s lawsuit, which had previously been dismissed by the Circuit Court of King William County.
The decision stated that no government “abiding by these principles can lawfully compel its citizens to pledge verbal allegiance to ideological views that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.”
The justices ruled that the lower court “erred in dismissing this claim.”
The settlement dictated that the teacher would receive $575,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees
In its ruling, the Virginia Supreme Court determined that “offensive” and “hurtful” language is sometimes the price one must pay for freedom of expression.
The opinion stated: ‘When religious freedom goes hand in hand with protection of freedom of expression, as is the case in this case, mere ‘offensive’ and ‘offensive’ religious expression or, as in this case, non-speech is not sufficient to meet this standard. .”
In a statement to the Daily PressWest Point Schools Superintendent Larry Frazier expressed relief at the ruling.
“We are pleased that we can reach a resolution that will not have a negative impact on West Point students, staff or the school community,” Frazier said.