ARGYLE, Wisconsin (LifeSiteNews) — A Wisconsin school district agreed to pay $20,000 to a Christian teacher who was fired after refusing to use a student’s LGBT pronouns.
On March 10, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) announced that a settlement of $20,000 had been reached by the Argyle School District with teacher Jordan Cernek, who was fired for refusing to use a student’s “preferred pronouns.”
“Mr. Cernek has a sincerely held religious belief that God makes no mistakes when it comes to sex and gender and that calling a transgender student by a name or pronouns at odds with their biological sex would cause Mr. Cernek to affirm that God made a mistake in creating a transgender person as a male or a female,” the lawsuit filed by WILL stated.
“In Mr. Cernek’s religious view, affirming a transgender person’s identity through the use of preferred names and pronouns would be speaking a falsehood and violate his religious beliefs,” it continued.
The controversy began in 2022 when the school district announced its policy forcing teachers and staff to use LGBT pronouns for students. Cernek, a Christian teacher who had two transgender students in his classroom, voiced his opposition to the policy.
Initially, the school resolved the issue, promising Cernek a religious accommodation exempting him from the requirement to use students’ preferred name and pronouns. However, the school administration later revoked this and forced him to adhere to the policy “in violation of his sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Cernek was informed that failure to adhere to the new policy would result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. However, Cernek pointed out that his religious convictions did not allow him to do this and resolved to continue calling the students by their names, not using pronouns.
In 2023, the school failed to renew Cernek’s teaching contract, essentially firing him. About a year later, Cernek filed a lawsuit against the school.
“The District’s effective termination of a beloved and much needed teacher simply because his beliefs differ from those of others is unconstitutional and a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” the lawsuit declared.
“School districts have a duty to reasonably accommodate their employees’ religious beliefs, and Mr. Cernek’s willingness to stand up for his religious beliefs is admirable,” WILL deputy counsel Luke Berg said in a press release.
Cernek celebrated the win, saying, “The district tried to force me to betray my 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.”