Speaking of not lying, the LA Times ran a terrific story yesterday headlined, “
SoCal district to pay $360K to teacher who was fired after refusing to follow transgender policies.”
Based PE Teacher
Believe it or not,
California has been one of the most reliable jurisdictions for pro-freedom cases. Maybe it’s the pressure cooker of woke insanity, or maybe it just reflects how far Newsom overreached. Either way, California judges have issued excellent rulings lately, like re-opening churches and striking down medical censorship laws.
And now, they’ve guided a result that will hammer a new sense of respect into school districts nationwide.
Jessica Tapia, former PE teacher at Jurupa Valley High School, refused — hypothetically, in her statements to district personnel — to use students’ preferred pronouns. She refused to allow students to use the locker room matching their gender identity. And She refused to withhold information from parents about their child’s gender identity.
So of course they fired her.
Jessica’s termination came right after delicate students reported several of Jessica’s social media posts as offensive, mostly because they mentioned transgender people and religion. When school officials ordered Jessica to cancel her personal social media activity, and slavishly adhere to district policies about transgender privacy and rights, she again refused, citing her Christian beliefs.
Jessica even respectfully requested a religious accommodation, explaining the district’s policies violated her sincerely held beliefs “regarding human sexuality and lying,” but her request was denied.
They denied her request to not lie.
In her wrongful termination lawsuit, Jessica argued the school violated her free speech and religious liberty rights. After some litigation, which must have convinced the district it had a losing case, on Tuesday the school finally settled, agreeing to pay Jessica $285,000, plus $75,000 to her attorneys.
That kind of result will encourage more attorneys to bring these kinds of cases.
Julianne Fleischer, one of Jessica’s lawyers, called the settlement an “incredible victory.” She correctly added, “We think it sends a strong message that there’s a price to pay when you ask a teacher to lie and withhold information.” A $360,000 price.
A price to pay on this Earth —
and elsewhere. Just saying.
That’s not all. In the process, they’ve managed to turn Jessica into an activist, expanding her influence far beyond her old PE classes. She is now helping lead a new campaign called “Teachers Don’t Lie,” offering support to other educators whose faith is being compromised by mendacious school policies.
And that’s progress. The conservative counter-revolution just won another important battle. And we’re still just getting organized.
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