Indiana school wins appeal against teacher who refused to use transgender students’ chosen names

Music instructor claims former school’s anti-discrimination policy trampled on his religious rights

A trans rights protester outside the Indiana Statehouse on 22 February 2023 (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

A US court has upheld the right of public schools to force religious teachers to call transgender students by their chosen names and pronouns.

John Kluge, a former music teacher at Brownsburg High School outside Indianapolis, had sued his old employer for trampling on his freedom of belief by asking him to follow its anti-discrimination policy for trans pupils.

The school's principal initially allowed him to simply call students by their last names, but changed course after trans students said it made them feel hurt and singled out in front of their peers.

On Friday, the federal Court of Appeals ruled that carving out an exception for Mr Kluge created an "undue burden" on the school's mission to cater to all its students equally.

It said that Mr Kluge's behaviour had "resulted in students feeling disrespected, targeted, and dehumanised", causing "disruptions to the learning environment".

“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," the court wrote, according to the Associated Press.

Like most people, trans people typically experience stress or distress if persistently called by the wrong name in daily life, and many consider using their chosen name to be a basic component of respect.

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative Christian lobby group that has been representing Mr Kluge in court, said it would consider what to do next.

“Congress passed Title VII to prevent employers from forcing workers to abandon their beliefs to keep their jobs,” said ADF attorney Rory Gray.

“In this case, Mr Kluge went out of his way to accommodate his students and treat them all with respect. The school district even permitted this accommodation before unlawfully punishing Mr Kluge for his religious beliefs.”