Why was John Kluge fired? Indiana High School teacher's removal upheld by court

The firing of Indiana High School teacher John Kluge over his refusal to call transgender students by their preferred names does not violate anti-discrimination laws, as per a federal appeals court. According to an order released on April 7, 2023, The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed what a federal judge had said about the case before.

As per a civil complaint filed in 2019, Kluge was a former orchestra and music teacher hired at Brownsburg High School in 2014. However, he wouldn't use the student's chosen name or pronouns because they didn't fit with his Christian views.

The complaint notes that Kluge believes in "encouraging students to present themselves as the opposite s*x by calling them an opposite-s*x first name is sinful."

John Kluge's set of personal rules did not sit right with some of the transgender students, who took offense to their teacher's comments.

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John Kluge's refusal to accept rules offended some transgender students

The case stems from 2017 when district officials started mandating high school teachers to use the names and pronouns mentioned in the school's official student record. Before that, changes could be made with letters from a parent and a doctor.

On the first day of the 2017–2018 academic year, Kluge informed Bret Daghe, the school's principal, that he had a religious challenge to use the names and pronouns of transgender children.

Officials from the district agreed that Kluge might address kids by their last names and would not be in charge of distributing orchestra uniforms. However, two transgender students said that Kluge's denial of the new rules singled them out in front of their friends and that this was humiliating. Officials were also informed by other students, instructors, and counselors that many felt uneasy in his classroom due to his set of principles.

The district informed instructors in January that all staff members would be expected to use the names and pronouns specified for children in the database. Officials responded to Kluge's query about whether the regulation would apply to him by telling him he either followed it, quit, or lost his job. Later, John Kluge left the school and sued it for discrimination based on religion and violating the First Amendment.

As per Reuters, the former teacher is looking to get his job back and undisclosed damages. Kluge's case was taken up by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal organization.

In the court documents seen by ABC 7 Chicago, the appeals court wrote:

"Brownsburg has demonstrated as a matter of law that the requested accommodation worked an undue burden on the school's educational mission by harming transgender students and negatively impacting the learning environment for transgender students, for other students in Kluge's classes and in the school generally, and for faculty."

According to The New York Post, John Kluge's lawyer, Rory Gray, who is employed with Alliance Defending Freedom, said that the organization is working on its next steps in the case.