A Christian teacher in California has received $360,000 after having been fired for saying she would inform parents if their child identified as transgender at school.
Jessica Tapia, who taught PE at Jurupa Valley High School, accused her employer of sacking her after she told them she could not comply with a series of directives, which also included using ‘preferred pronouns’, allowing boys to use girls’ bathrooms, and no longer sharing her religious beliefs on social media.
She has now reached a financial settlement with the school district, which has not admitted any wrongdoing or discrimination against her.
‘Fight for truth’
Tapia stated: “What happened to me can happen to anybody, and I want the next teacher to know that it is worth it to take a stand for what is right.
“Across the country, we are seeing teachers’ freedom of speech and religious liberty violated through policies that require them to forsake their morals. I want teachers to be confident in the fact that the best thing we can do for students is educate in truth, not deception.”
She said she had received a “truly overwhelming amount” of support, and had had to “lean on the Lord like never before and look at what his word says and what the best thing for me to do in this situation — even if it was going to be the sacrificial thing, even if it was going to turn my life upside down”.
“It ultimately really does come down to my faith and how I believe that it’s always worth it to stand for righteousness and fight for truth. And ultimately, I believe the word of God is that truth and is the instructions we’ve been given to live our life upon.”
Schools
Last year, the Department for Education published draft guidance on how schools should help gender-questioning children in England.
The guidance was largely welcomed as a key step towards ending the trans-affirming agenda pushed on schools in recent years by lobby groups such as Stonewall.
The document makes clear that: if a child wants to socially transition, schools should give “great weight” to parents’ views; schools must not allow pupils who say they are trans to use toilets and changing rooms of the opposite sex; in the vast majority of cases, teachers should use sex-based pronouns; and teachers and pupils should not be compelled to use a gender-confused child’s preferred pronouns.
The consultation on this guidance has now closed, and the Government is expected to publish the final version in the near future.
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