KANSAS CITY — A teacher at a Missouri middle school claims she suffered discrimination for objecting to using pronouns inconsistent with students' biological sex.
Geri Bachman, a Christian teacher at Smith-Hale Middle School in the Hickman Mills School District, claims she faced discrimination due to her religious beliefs, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Bachman's objection was to using pronouns inconsistent with a student's biological sex, based on her religious conviction that affirming gender identity conflicts with biblical teachings and scientific evidence, according to the suit.
"Hickman Mills broke the law when they refused to accommodate Ms. Bachman's deeply held religious beliefs," Jonathan Whitehead, Bachman's attorney, said in an interview with The St. Louis Record. "The District tried to force Ms. Bachman to use male pronouns to address female students in her girls’ PE class. The District was inconsistent in its classifications, and allowed other teachers to treat the same students as female."
Whitehead said several cases have been filed on similar issues.
"The latest decision I’m aware of is the Vlaming case in Virginia, where a high school teacher was fired for refusing to use the government’s pronouns," Whitehead said. "Virginia’s Supreme Court said the teacher has a valid claim for the violation of his civil rights."
Whitehead said they have not received any offers from the district.
"We would expect to participate in the court's normal alternative dispute resolution process," Whitehead said.
Bachman claims despite an accommodation request, the school district compelled her to use preferred pronouns chosen by students, even if it contradicted their legal name and biological sex.
This policy led to Bachman's termination, allegedly for violating directives from the administration regarding gender identity, according to the suit.
Bachman claims her religious beliefs dictate her view of human nature, sexuality and morality and she believes in the immutable nature of biological sex as ordained by God and objects to affirming gender identity contrary to biological reality, citing religious principles against dishonesty and complicity in sin.
Additionally, Bachman holds concerns about the potential harm of affirming transgender identities, especially among children, whose understanding of such concepts may not be fully developed, according to the suit.
Bachman claims the school district's policy requiring teachers to validate students' chosen gender identities conflicted with her religious convictions and despite initially agreeing to an accommodation allowing her to use gender-neutral language, Bachman was reprimanded for not complying fully with the directive to use preferred pronouns.
The district's actions, including reprimand and termination, were based on alleged violations of policies related to professional conduct and ethics, as well as Title IX regulations, according to the suit.
Bachman claims the situation escalated when she was notified of the non-renewal of her contract, allegedly due to her refusal to comply with the district's policy on gender identity.
Bachman claims she was targeted by students aware of her Christian faith, leading to complaints to the administration.
Despite Bachman's adherence to the student's legal names and biological sex as recorded in the school's systems, the district proceeded with terminating her contract.
"As some students claimed to change their identity by the class period, Plaintiff was fired for using the name and sex she found in the District’s own computer system," the complaint states. "Plaintiff, a girls’ PE teacher, referred to students in her Girls’ PE class by female names and pronouns consistent with the student’s sex, as listed in school records."
Bachman filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which issued her a right-to-sue letter, enabling her to pursue legal action.
The plaintiff argues that the district's actions violated her constitutional rights to freedom of speech and religion, as well as Title VII protections against discrimination based on religious beliefs, according to the suit.
Bachman is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is represented by Jonathan R. Whitehead of the Law Offices of Jonathan R. Whitehead LLC in Lee's Summit.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri case number: 4:23-cv-00931