A Wisconsin teacher has reached a settlement with his former school district after facing termination due to his religious objection to referring to trans-identified students by their preferred names and pronouns.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty announced Monday that the Argyle School District has agreed to pay a $20,000 settlement to Jordan Cernek. The teacher was fired in May 2023 for opposing a requirement that all district staff use the preferred names and pronouns of trans-identified students.
The law firm filed a lawsuit on Cernek’s behalf in July 2024, alleging that his termination violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 18 of the Wisconsin Constitution.
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The settlement brings the litigation against the school district to a close.
“To avoid acting contrary to his religious convictions, Mr. Cernek made the District aware of his religious objection to this requirement and agreed not to use any names when referring to students,” the WILL announcement reads. “But ultimately, the District warned him that refusing to refer to students by preferred names and pronouns would result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. Six months later, the District kept its promise and did not renew Mr. Cernek’s teaching contract.”
Cernek contends the district attempted to coerce him into betraying his “religious convictions and commitment to God.”
“I am grateful that there was some resolution to this matter and will continue to encourage teachers to stand up for their beliefs,” Cernek said response to the settlement.
Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty Associate Counsel Nathalie Burmeister said religious freedom is a “core liberty that our nation and state were founded upon.”
“Jordan’s victory is critical to advancing the cause of religious freedom across the country,” Burmeister said.
Cernek is one of several teachers who have faced professional repercussions for declining to use the preferred names and pronouns of trans-identified students due to religious objections.
In 2021, Kansas math teacher Pamela Ricard, a devout Christian who “holds sincere religious beliefs consistent with the traditional Christian and biblical understanding of the human person and biological sex,” was suspended for calling a trans-identified female student by her given name and addressing her with female pronouns.
Ricard reached a $95,000 legal settlement with her school district in 2022.
In Virginia, French teacher Peter Vlaming was fired because he declined to use a male name and pronouns to address a female student because of similar religious beliefs about gender and sexuality. Vlaming reached a $575,000 settlement with his former school district last year that also awarded him attorney’s fees and the removal of termination from his record.
Several states have passed laws protecting teachers who do not wish to refer to trans-identified students by their preferred names and pronouns. Wyoming enacted legislation designed to protect all state employees last month, while a measure implemented in Idaho last year specifically mentions public school teachers.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
