The College Fix

Superintendent had demanded teacher use student’s chosen pronouns even outside of school

A Virginia teacher who was fired six years ago for refusing to refer to a biologically female student as “he/him” will be the recipient of an almost $600,000 settlement.

As reported by The College Fix, French teacher Peter Vlaming (pictured) was fired by the West Point School Board in December of 2018 based on a policy  essentially invented “out of thin air.”

After Vlaming inadvertently used “she” when referring to the student in “his” absence, the student requested a meeting upon hearing about it.

Vlaming then met with the student and parents, whereupon one parent demanded he “leave his principles and beliefs out of this” and just use the male pronouns as requested.

Vlaming’s principal subsequently told him to “do whatever the parents ask,” and the assistant principal gave him documents from the National Center for Transgender Equality regarding “pronoun usage.”

After another pronoun slip-up by Vlaming, the parents withdrew the student from his class. Vlaming was suspended for one month while the district looked into whether he violated its “harassment or retaliation” policy.

Superintendent Laura Abel required Vlaming to use male pronouns for the student “regardless of location or context, even outside of school.” When Vlaming said he could not “in good conscience” comply with such a demand, the school board  fired him for violations of district nondiscrimination policy.

According to an Alliance Defending Freedom press release, the West Point School Board’s settlement with Vlaming includes $575,000 in damages and lawyers’ fees, and the removal of his termination from his record.

Separately, the board agreed to “change its policies to conform to the new Virginia education policies established by Gov. Glenn Youngkin that respect fundamental free speech and parental rights.”

ADF Center for Academic Freedom Director Tyson Langhofer said “[Vlaming] wasn’t fired for something he said; he was fired for something he couldn’t say. The school board violated his First Amendment rights under the Virginia Constitution and commonwealth law.”

Langhofer added that Vlaming “couldn’t in good conscience speak messages that he knew were untrue, and no school board or government official can punish someone for that reason.”

MORE: Montana State student wins legal battle over ‘preferred pronouns’

IMAGE: Alliance Defending Freedom

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