Alliance Defending Freedom Secures $450,000 Settlement in Teacher Religious Freedom Case

Alliance Defending Freedom, representing former Jackson Memorial Middle School English teacher Vivian Geraghty, has reached a $450,000 settlement with the Jackson Local School District over claims of religious freedom violations. The settlement covers damages and attorneys' fees stemming from a controversy that began in August 2022.

The conflict, Geraghty v. Jackson Local School District Board of Education, arose when Geraghty was instructed to participate in the social transition of two students who requested to be addressed by new names reflecting their gender identities, with one student also requesting different pronouns. After receiving instructions from the school counselor to comply with these requests, Geraghty approached her principal seeking a compromise that would allow her to continue teaching while maintaining her religious beliefs.

What is Alliance Defending Freedom?

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, marriage and family, and the sanctity of life.

Alliance Defending Freedom Church & Ministry Alliance serves as a specialized legal division dedicated to supporting faith-based organizations. This branch works to protect religious institutions' core freedoms, helping them maintain their right to practice and express their beliefs without interference.

According to the lawsuit filed by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys, school officials (including the principal and the district's director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment) told Geraghty she must "put her beliefs aside as a public servant." When she expressed her inability to comply due to her religious convictions, officials presented her with an immediate choice: either participate in the students' social transitions or resign. Despite Geraghty's protest that this ultimatum violated her First Amendment rights, she was required to draft and submit her resignation immediately.

Geraghty's objection stemmed from her religious beliefs and scientific understanding that gender is determined by biological sex rather than personal identity. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys argued that forcing her to participate in students' social transitions would compel her to communicate messages she believed were both false and potentially harmful to students.

In a statement on Alliance Defending Freedom Media, Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Logan Spena said, "No school official can force a teacher to set her religious beliefs aside in order to keep her job. The school tried to force Vivian to accept and repeat the school’s viewpoint on issues that go to the foundation of morality and human identity, like what makes us male or female, by ordering her to personally participate in the social transition of her students. The First Amendment prohibits that abuse of power, and Jackson Local School District officials have learned that comes at a steep cost. Vivian resisted this unconstitutional demand and explained that her Christian faith made her unable to participate in her students’ social transition, and she has received just vindication for taking this stand."

The settlement marks a victory for Alliance Defending Freedom and helps establish a precedent regarding the protection of teachers' religious freedoms in public education settings, particularly concerning gender identity policies and their implementation in schools.