Education

Indiana Counselor Sues School District After Being Fired For Rejecting Trans Support Plan

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A former Indiana counselor is suing a school district after being fired for rejecting its gender support plan which requires educators to use pronouns that don’t correspond with a student’s biological sex.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Kathy McCord against South Madison Community School Corporation alleging that the district fired her because she spoke to a reporter about the school’s “Gender Support Plan,” confirming that the policy requires educators to use pronouns that don’t correspond with a student’s biological sex. McCord allegedly told the school administration she disapproved of the plan, which requires educators to keep a student’s gender transition from parents unless told otherwise, but was informed she must follow the policy if she wished to keep her job.

“No educator should be fired for expressing her beliefs, especially when she speaks in her personal capacity, on her own time, and out of concern for her students,” Vincent Wagner, ADF senior counsel, said in a press release. “Yet when Kathy spoke out about South Madison’s controversial new policy, the school district did just that. Kathy knows that kids do best when schools and parents work together. But South Madison’s harmful policy leaves parents in the dark. South Madison violated Kathy’s rights by forcing her to contradict her religious beliefs and participate in this policy. Schools can’t keep secrets from parents about their children’s mental health and wellbeing.”

McCord allegedly told the reporter, as a community member, that she disagreed with the policy because it contradicted her religious beliefs, the lawsuit stated. The school district superintendent allegedly questioned McCord about her interview with the reporter and the school board voted to let her go from her counselor position.

Across the country, school districts have enacted policies which hide student’s gender transitions from their parents; some of the nation’s largest school systems including Los Angeles Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools and New York Public Schools require educators to keep students’ pronoun changes a secret from their parents, though parental permission is necessary to receive over-the-counter medication.

“South Madison fired Mrs. McCord for exercising her constitutional rights. And even before its unconstitutional retaliation, it compelled her to speak a viewpoint that violates her religion,” the lawsuit alleged. “For decades, Mrs. McCord loved helping students—and excelled at it. Today, she just wants to get back to a school to help more kids.”

South Madison Community School Corporation did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.