U.S. News
Teacher Wins Settlement After Being Fired for Not Using Trans Student’s Pronouns
Clear Facts
- A Wisconsin school district agreed to pay $20,000 to a teacher fired for not using preferred pronouns for transgender students.
- Jordan Cernek sued the district, claiming his termination violated his religious rights and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
- The case was settled in February, with similar settlements occurring in other states for teachers in similar situations.
In a notable development, a Wisconsin school district has agreed to a $20,000 settlement with a teacher who was dismissed for refusing to use transgender students’ preferred pronouns and names. Jordan Cernek, an English teacher, initiated legal action against the Argyle School District, arguing that his dismissal infringed upon his religious freedoms and violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Cernek’s lawsuit, filed with the assistance of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, emphasized his deeply held religious beliefs. The lawsuit stated, “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.”
Initially, the district offered Cernek a religious accommodation, exempting him from the requirement to use students’ preferred names and pronouns. However, this exemption was later rescinded, and he was required to comply with the name policy.
Cernek expressed his concerns during an August 2022 meeting when the school district announced its policy. At the start of the 2022-2023 school year, two students in Cernek’s classes requested to be referred to by their preferred names, as documented in court records.
The case reached a resolution in February with a settlement, as indicated by court records. This settlement aligns with a trend of similar cases across the country, where teachers have been dismissed for not adhering to transgender name policies.
For instance, a Virginia school board settled a lawsuit in September with a high school teacher for $575,000 after he was fired for not using a student’s preferred pronouns. Similarly, an Ohio school district agreed to a $450,000 settlement in December with a middle school teacher, following a federal court’s finding that the pronoun requirement constituted “compelled speech.”
Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Don Bailey
March 10, 2025 at 6:18 pm
Mr Cernek settled to easily, he’s got a dismissal o his record that will make it hard to find another job. Should have received at least 5 years wages since he’s unemployable to many
EarnApp
March 11, 2025 at 12:28 pm
They deliver me 100-120$ an hour to complete on an laptop. I sincerely didn’t suppose it turned into possible, however my relied on buddy made $26,000 in only 4 weeks operating in this {cr-02} easy opportunity and she or he encouraged me to present it a try.
.
CLICK ON MY PROFILE
Kirk Augustin
March 10, 2025 at 7:01 pm
I support gays and trans, but no one gets to dictate language.
SAMSON
March 10, 2025 at 7:10 pm
That is not enough! These people have to be held personally accountable for what they do or they will just keep doing it. This promoting of these perverse wackjob’s has to stop.
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March 10, 2025 at 8:12 pm
for 3 percent of the population, we are going to change pronouns, bathrooms, etc.
and you where BORN one way and change it, that is up to you but does not mean I have to change everything to suit your surgical changes, enough is enough,
maybe the 97percent of the people are tired of this BS,
to bad you don’t identify as a dog or cat for then they might better treatment,
Laura R Wagner
March 10, 2025 at 9:26 pm
A sexually confused person under the age of 18 should not have access to “gender affirming” care especially when they are undergoing puberty. Why? Because a study done in Sweden has shown that most so-called trans-youths come to accept the sex they were born into after that age. There is NO GUARANTEE of happiness if genital mutilation even willingly is done to a minor. No surgery can change the person within the body. It just prevents that person from coming to grips with who and what they are. Oh, and causes severe pain and highly possible medical issues from that surgery plus makes the doctors RICH, which is why they push it so much.
Mark Steckloff
March 11, 2025 at 4:50 am
As other commenters have noted, this sounds like a weak settlement for the teacher. A $20,000 settlement is what most attorneys consider a “nuisance settlement”: just enough to make the case go away, while the school district saves well over $20,000 in attorney fees and other legal costs it would have incurred had the district insisted on taking this case to trial.
Why settle so cheaply? The teacher’s case must have been weak. I’d be interested in knowing what the school district asserted in defense of the lawsuit. I guess we won’t know because, once again, Crystal Clear News is reporting only the teacher’s claims.
Mark Steckloff
March 11, 2025 at 4:55 am
Perhaps the headline to this article should have been; “Teacher Who Violated School Policy Fails Miserably in Attempt to Get Court Windfall”.
don
March 13, 2025 at 12:20 pm
The settlement was way too small. School boards need to be hit hard for this nonsense.
James
March 24, 2025 at 6:03 pm
Trans changes you to neuter. One of dhe dems population control stratagies.