When a middle school teacher in Kansas refused to use a biologically female student’s preferred pronouns, she was disciplined under the district’s bullying procedures.The instructor sued the district and won a huge compensation, claiming that her religious beliefs were “actively violated” and that only God determines a person’s gender at birth.
Pamela Ricard was at the center of a national discussion in 2021 on educational reform, religious freedom, and gender identity.
After “addressing a biologically female student by the student’s legal and enrolled last name,” the former middle school math instructor, who had been employed at Fort Riley Middle School in Kansas since 2005, was suspended, according to NBC.
Ricard placed her faith first even though a school counselor informed her that the student preferred a different first name.
In response to requests to use the student’s preferred first name, Ricard began referring to the student by their last name, followed by the gendered title “miss,” because she believed that God assigned gender at birth and that using language that was different from the student’s biological sex “actively violated” her religious commitment.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Ricard believed she had reached an agreement that honored the student’s religious beliefs.
“Bullying
Ricard was suspended under the district’s “bullying and diversity and inclusion policies,” despite the fact that neither the school nor the district had a clear policy on gender pronouns at the time.
This infuriated the retired educator, who, according to a federal complaint filed by Ricard in 2022, requested a “religious exemption to the policy” three times since her “beliefs were never accommodated.”
The document details Ricard’s allegations that the Geary County School District “violated her constitutional rights” to equal protection under the law, free expression, due process, and the freedom to practice her religion. Additionally, it states that “when [the district] suspended her for three days, her Christian beliefs” were not taken into account.
Furthermore, according to the lawsuit, teachers were “told to conceal a student’s preference by using legal names when addressing parents, if that was the student’s wish.”
According to Tyson Langhofer, director of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal organization that filed the lawsuit with Ricard’s team of attorneys at the Kriegshauser Ney Law Group, “no school district should ever force teachers to willfully deceive parents or engage in any speech that violates their deeply held religious beliefs.”
“Our suit contends that schools cannot force teachers to promote novel views about gender fluidity and ever-expanding pronoun categories without regard to the First Amendment or due process,” Josh Ney, one of her lawyers, told AP.
“Ms. Ricard has always treated each student in her classroom with dignity and respect throughout her career; sadly, the school district has not treated Ms. Ricard with the same good faith or basic fairness,” he continues.
“Deception and absurdity”
Ricard obtained a $95,000 settlement just six months after she sued the district for willfully violating her religious convictions.
In order to conceal the new names and genders that the school is using for a child in a classroom, the Geary County School District made an unsuccessful attempt to persuade a federal court that a teacher should never use a child’s name during a parent-teacher conference. “There are limits to absurdity and deceit, particularly in federal court,” Ney stated, adding that the school system has withdrawn its parental communications policy that prioritized student requests following the decision.
“I’m happy the case makes clear the financial consequences for school boards if they try to coerce teachers into lying to parents about their students,” he continues.
What people say
Social media users unified in their support and admiration for Ricard, the teacher the district attempted to humiliate.
“This is simply incorrect. These foolish and harmful concepts are not the teacher’s fault. I’m glad she is refusing to back down. One netizen comments, “Need more like her!” on a Facebook post announcing Ricard’s settlement.
“Thankful for this teacher for standing up for what’s right,” says a second, and “Horrible!” remarks a third. I’m so happy she was able to assert her right to be a trustworthy and honorable lady.
The district cleaned up Ricard’s records and released a statement stating that she was in good standing and had not been disciplined as part of her settlement. The year she filed the complaint, Ricard retired.
How do you feel about the instructor sticking to her convictions? So that we can hear from others, kindly share this story and let us know what you think!
