Virginia School Board Settles for $575,000 With Teacher Fired Over Transgender Pronoun Dispute

The high school teacher was dismissed in 2018 after he refused to use a student’s preferred male pronouns, opting to use the student’s name instead.

Peter Vlaming taught for seven years at the West Point Public Schools in Virginia. Courtesy Peter Vlaming

A Virginia school board has agreed to pay $575,000 in damages and legal fees to settle a lawsuit brought by former high school French teacher Peter Vlaming, who was dismissed after refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns, citing religious convictions.

The settlement, announced on Sept. 30 by the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), resolves the case Vlaming filed against the West Point School Board. Vlaming argued that his dismissal violated his First Amendment rights after he refused to comply with the superintendent’s demand that he refer to a transgender student by pronouns inconsistent with the student’s biological sex.