A clash between religious conviction and public-school policy has landed in federal court, and the ruling could shape how far schools can go in dictating what teachers say in the classroom.
Should Christian instructors be required to honor students’ preferred pronouns and gender identity? What happens when school policy and religious belief are at odds?
Faith and Policy Collide
Substitute teacher Kimberly Ann Polk’s first year working at Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland during the 2021-2022 school year came and went without issue. But ahead of the 2022-2023 school year, she was required by the district to complete online training regarding district policies.
One of the policies, under the school board’s official Guidelines for Student Gender Identity, requires instructors to honor students’ gender identities, and call them by their preferred name and pronouns.
Notably, this is the same school district which argued that it would be too large a burden to create an alternative curriculum for parents who want to opt their kids out of LGBTQ+-related lessons for their kids.
Citing her “sincerely held religious beliefs,” which are “based on her understanding of her Christian religion and the Holy Bible,” Polk refused - and instead asked for a religious accommodation.Polk believed “she would act unethically if she affirmatively assisted children to present as other than their God-given sex… [which] would include lying to children by using pronouns for them that do not match their God-given, biological sex.”
The dispute ultimately made its way to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, where judges rejected her claim that the district’s actions amounted to religious discrimination.
Pronoun Use “Part of the Job”
In their dismissal, the panel of judges argued that treating kids with respect and honoring their gender identity was simply part of her duties as a public school instructor.
“How a teacher addresses a particular student in a particular classroom—and whether a teacher communicates with a student’s parent—is merely a part of that teacher’s job description,” wrote Circuit Judge Robert Bruce King. “No one forced Polk to become a substitute teacher in Montgomery County,” he argued - and that by accepting the position, she agreed to abide by school policy.
Plus, he said, it couldn’t have been religious discrimination because not all people sharing Polk’s faith even agree in her definition of gender. As he put things:
"Because Polk herself is a Christian who believes that there are only two sexes does not mean that all Christians believe the same thing," King wrote, "and that non-Christians inherently believe otherwise."
Is It Compelled Speech?
Not all of the judges on the panel disagreed with Polk. Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III dissented, writing that the majority ruling makes clear “there is no limit to the words the state can put in teachers’ mouths.” His dissent argued the ruling could have wide-reaching consequences.
Can the state force an Israeli teacher to wear a pro-Palestine pin? Can the state force a Quaker math teacher to start class with a statement expressing her support for U.S. military strikes abroad? Can the state force an atheist teacher to recite the pledge of allegiance with the words “under God”?
Polk and her attorneys are currently considering their options. Her attorney, Rick Claybrook, even suggested they may even request that the Supreme Court take up the case.
Yet as debates over gender identity, religious freedom, and free speech continue to collide in classrooms, cases like this raise a fundamental question for teachers across the country: where should the line be drawn between personal beliefs and professional obligations?
Did the courts get this ruling right?
24 comments
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Colleen McAllister
It is respectful to call someone by their preferred name or pronoun. Referring to a biological he as a she does not change who they are but will make them more comfortable. Nor does it show your approval of their lifestyle. It simply is acknowledging that they have the right to be respected as a person.
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Pamela Kay Waters
NO!! This kind of stuff needs to stay away from our kids schools, churches and in the public. Since all this crap has started it has done nothing but confuse kids. Some even consider themselves as cats and want litter boxes in the bathrooms. This crap is messing these kids up and who knows what this world will be like when they hit age 20. Hate to even think. MALE/FEMALE. That's it.
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Michael Hunt
"Some even consider themselves as cats and want litter boxes in the bathrooms."
This is not at all true. This is a conservative hoax meant to turn people against the transgender community by painting them as so unreasonable that they want litter boxes.
Kids are not confused by gender, in fact they have a much better understanding of it than we do in many cases, and it is not messing them up. Social media and unlimited access to screens and the internet are doing so much more damage to children than transgender people.
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Rev. Miche'al Yosef Dixon
To force people to say the fascist party line is first goose step towards the concentration camps. However, on the genders issue; my scripture faith aside, there are only three genders in nature; 1) Male has X chromosomes. 2) Female has Y chromosomes. 3) Hermaphrodite has both X&Y chromosomes. These is scientific fact that can't be changed. You can change the package but not the chromosomes. "in nature there are only two genders for one purpose, reproduction. The pleasure is a side effect." - Dr. Carl Jung
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Michael Hunt
Gender is not biological sex. They are two different things.
Also, I cannot find anything that attributes the quote you provided to Dr. Jung.
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Dr. Zerpersande, NSC
People have nicknames. Robert gets called Rob, Robbie, Bob and even Dick. But those are ‘standard’ nicknames. A guy at my high school was on the football team and had the nickname Flash. Would it be wrong if he insisted that a teacher called him Flash?
Pronoun nicknames, who cares? Except for me I’d probably make mistakes and that would be a litmus test for the situation as far as I’m concerned. If I forgot you used the wrong pronoun, and the kid flipped out, well sorry but I’d probably start to ‘forget’ more often. But if the kid accepted the fact that I’ve been using those pronouns all my life and simply couldn’t just change 100%, then I’d probably do the opposite and make more of an effort.
But in general, I agree with the court. The teacher needs to suck it up and stop living in La La Land?
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Sir Lionheart
We’ll be seeing next as “Educational Policies” that we need to provide doggie drinking bowls in the classrooms for children who want to identify as a “Pup”, and some children and adults do, believe me. We have the woke liberal left to thank (blame) for this. If we don’t comply they will jump up and down and scream like the spoiled children they are, making their facial jewelry and other facial hardware jingle. Are the liberal schools still supplying tampons in men’s bathrooms? 🤪
🦁❤️
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Pamela Kay Waters
Exactly. Very well put. There are kids that think they are cats and want litter boxes in the bathrooms and sit and clean themselves during class and claws at another student who looks. They just want the hype and attention.
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Reverend Paula Copp
Nobody wants your attention; they want to be left to live in peace. Most people in the LGBT+ community don’t want anything to do with your bigoted beliefs… I know I don’t.
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ServantOfJudgement
Customized pronouns is self worship with the expectation that others confirm the self worship of the delusional. No.
To the whems, bems, thems, kems, zems, pems, hems, mems and flems, I respect you way too much to call you anything other than he or she. Come back, as quickly as you can.
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Michael Hunt
No, you don't respect them enough to accept their wishes, you only respect them if they adhere to your worldview.
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Michael Hunt
To me, this is an issue of respecting the child's identity. She doesn't need to agree with the child, but if she's intentionally using pronouns the child has asked them not to use, they're creating a hostile learning environment for that child. This isn't a religious morality issue, it's an issue of respecting someone else's beliefs. If she can't do that, she shouldn't be a teacher.
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Reverend Paula Copp
As a retired professor, I appreciate your point of view!
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Brian Hand
There’s 2 genders assigned at birth. That’s what I’m using and I don’t care if anyone disagrees.
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Pamela Kay Waters
There should be no choice. You are born a MALE OR A FEMALE. That's how God made you so what people are really saying is God made a mistake. God made me a male but I want to be a female and vice-versa. Why do people think it's ok to mess with perfection. God doesn't make mistakes.
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Nicholas J Page
No body should be forced to say or do anything against their will.
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Bill Thompson
I believe that to refer to a male as a she or a female as a he or the use of any other disorientation is a lie! It’s a break from truth and our Bible does not advocate a lie in order to make another feel aligned with God. Leave your sex alone and work with what God created you to be!
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Susan Colmenares
Why is this a problem? “They” is merely a word, a collection of monemes. This is a tempest in a teapot.
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ServantOfJudgement
I was trained with 68 pronoun sets by my corporate overlords. I never could figure out why the lgbtqia++map crowd stopped at 68. They were right there and blew it. Should have been 69 right? That would have made sense for the kinky sex crowd. Now they've jumped to about 78 pronouns. That's why it's a problem Susan. Some of us aren't idiots. Some of us don't like to deal with stupid junk. I don't mean to be rude but I think it's rude to make me call a dude a chick. I'm smarter than that.
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Pamela Kay Waters
They don't even know if they are a male or female. There should be no choice.
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Reverend Paula Copp
Wow! Your christianity is really generous…
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You’re all entitled to your opinions, as am I. For the moment, we still have freedom of speech. I want people to be comfortable in their own skin, so it’s none of my business what you are… nor is it anyone else’s! For the christians in the room… Judge not, that ye be not judged.
But they are acting like God made a mistake when they were made.
That’s because the gods don’t always get it right…