Earlier this month, in Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corp., the Seventh Circuit of Appeals held that an Indiana school district did not violate a teacher’s religious rights when it required the teacher to follow a policy on how to address transgender students. The District’s Name Policy required staff to use students’ preferred name and pronouns consistent with their gender identity.
After the District issued the Name Policy, which it intended to promote equality and encourage a supportive environment for transgender students, a teacher objected to abiding by the Name Policy due to his religious beliefs. At the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, the District accommodated the teacher’s religious beliefs by allowing the teacher to refer to students by their last name only.
That accommodation, however, was not successful. Within weeks, the school began to receive reports from students and faculty expressing concern with the teacher’s conduct because students felt uncomfortable with the teacher’s use of last names only. Students reported that transgender students felt targeted and isolated by the practice. The District withdrew the accommodation when it became apparent the practice was harming students and was negatively affecting the learning environment.
Ultimately, the Seventh Circuit reasoned that accommodating the teacher’s religious objections to the school’s Name Policy created an undue hardship for the District because it affected the District’s mission to educate all students and its desire to treat all students with respect and affirmation of their identity. Accordingly, it held the District did not violate the teacher’s rights when it required him to adhere to the Name Policy.
Although Massachusetts is not within the Seventh Circuit, the Court’s decision is significant as it appears to be the first federal circuit court to hold that school districts may require employees to adhere to policies respecting students’ gender identity notwithstanding employees’ sincerely-held religious beliefs. The Seventh Circuit has traditionally been more conservative than the First Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued guidance in 2021 interpreting G.L. c. 76, § 5 (which governs discrimination in public school attendance) stating that school districts should use a student’s chosen name and pronoun appropriate to the student’s gender identity.
Please contact any member of Mirick O’Connell’s Charter School Law Group if you have any questions about this decision.
