Kansas Teacher Suspended for Refusing to Use ‘Preferred Pronouns’ Wins $95K in Lawsuit

A Kansas teacher was awarded $95,000 in damages and attorneys fees from a lawsuit regarding her refusal to use a student’s “preferred pronouns.”

Pamela Ricard, a former math teacher at Fort Riley Middle School in Geary County, Kansas, filed a lawsuit against the school district for violating her First Amendment rights when they reprimanded and suspended her for not using improper pronouns.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), counsel for Ricard, said the teacher was suspended for “refusing to deceive parents” because she referred to the student by her legal name. Ricard was also “forced … to conceal student’s social transition from the student’s parents.”

The student requested that her pronouns be “he/him,” but Ricard decided to address her by using “Miss” and her last name instead.

After Ricard’s suspension, a new policy was put in place requiring teachers to use “preferred pronouns” and names for students who request them. According to the lawsuit, Ricard was denied a religious exemption for the new policy. Teachers had been directed since October 2021 to not inform parents of a student’s “transition.”

The U.S. district court in Kansas allowed the case to move forward as they believed that Ricard was likely to win on her First Amendment challenge regarding the free exercise of religion.

The school district settled the case for $95,000 without any disciplinary actions against Ricard, making her in good standing at the time of her retirement. After this announcement, the case was dismissed in what ADF calls a “victory for free speech at public schools.”

“No school district should ever force teachers to willfully deceive parents or engage in any speech that violates their deeply held religious beliefs,” ADF Senior Counsel and director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom Tyson Langhofer said. “We’re pleased to settle this case favorably on behalf of Pam, and we hope that it will encourage school districts across the country to support the constitutionally protected freedom of teachers to teach and communicate honestly with both children and parents.”

The case is Ricard v. USD 475 Geary County Schools School Board Members, No. 5:22-cv-04015, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.