A Christian fundamentalist teacher in Indiana has been awarded more than $650,000 after claiming he was forced out of his job for refusing to respect a transgender student’s pronouns.
Music teacher John Kluge reached a settlement with Brownsburg Community Schools following nearly eight years of legal disputes over his dismissal.
The case stems from a 2017 update to the district’s inclusivity policy requiring staff to respect transgender students’ names and pronouns.
Policy Dispute and Resignation
Kluge objected to the rule, citing his conservative religious beliefs. Initially, the district allowed him to use only students’ last names as a compromise, according to local outlet IndyStar.
However, the exception was withdrawn in 2018. School officials then presented the orchestra teacher with a choice: comply with the policy by using students’ names and pronouns, or resign.
Kluge chose to resign and subsequently filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against the district, arguing the policy forced him to choose between his career and his faith.
Legal Battle Across Multiple Courts
The case moved through several courts in the United States over the following years.
Both the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit initially sided with the school district.
In a 2021 ruling, Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson wrote that respecting a person’s name outweighed Kluge’s “sincerely held religious beliefs” when considering the school’s responsibility to support its students.
The case was later revived in 2023 after intervention by the Supreme Court of the United States, which set a higher standard for determining whether employers must accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs.
After further legal proceedings, the parties ultimately agreed to a $650,000 settlement.
Reactions to the Settlement
Kluge was represented by the conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. Senior counsel David Cortman described the district’s inclusivity policy as an “ideological mandate”, arguing that schools should reconsider policies that he believes conflict with employees’ religious beliefs.
A spokesperson for Brownsburg Community Schools said the district agreed to settle because it was in its best interests to end the prolonged litigation.
“The school corporation has not wavered in its belief that Mr Kluge’s decision to resign came after the school corporation followed its policy and applicable federal laws and acted in the best interest of its students,” the statement said.
The case has become one of several high-profile legal battles in the United States involving religious freedom claims and policies protecting transgender students.
