PRESS RELEASE
August 7, 2024
Contact: James Bopp, Jr.
Cell Phone 812/243-0825; Phone 812/232-2434; Fax 812/235-3685; [email protected]

Friend of the Court Brief Filed Supporting Indiana Teacher Forced Out Over Transgender Pronoun Policy

Indianapolis, Indiana - On Thursday, The Bopp Law Firm filed an amicus (or “friend of the court”) brief on behalf of the Young America's Foundation in support of John M. Kluge, a Christian teacher who was forced to quit his job at an Indiana public school for following his religious beliefs and not referring to transgender students by their preferred pronouns.

Mr. Kluge was pushed out of his job for simply asking to use last names for all students, rather than using transgender students' preferred first names and pronouns. Brownsburg Community School Corporation initially agreed but later changed its mind, telling Mr. Kluge he had to quit if he wouldn't use names that went against his religious beliefs.

“The school district's attempt to force Mr. Kluge to violate his Christian beliefs is a blatant attack on religious liberty and the First Amendment,” said James Bopp, Jr., lead counsel on YAF's brief. “ We cannot allow activist administrators to bully faithful teachers out of our classrooms simply for living out their religious beliefs.”

YAF argues that the lower court wrongly relied on student complaints that the school didn't even know about when it took away Mr. Kluge's religious accommodation. The court should have only looked at the reasons the school district had at the time it made its decision, not reasons it came up with later for the lawsuit.

YAF believes that the school district violated an important law, Title VII, which protects employees from discrimination based on their religion. The law says that employers must provide reasonable accommodations for their employees' religious practices, unless it would cause a significant problem for the employer.

In Mr. Kluge's case, the school district allowed him to use last names for all students for a whole school year without any issues. But then, the school district suddenly changed its mind and told Mr. Kluge he had to use transgender students' preferred names and pronouns, even though it went against his religious beliefs.

YAF has asked the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to correct this injustice and rule in Mr. Kluge's favor. This case is crucial for protecting the rights of all religious Americans to practice their faith without fear of losing their jobs.

"A teacher should not be forced to sacrifice his faith at the whim of a leftist employer, and public schools must be held accountable to this basic constitutional principle," said Madison Hahn, staff attorney for YAF. "YAF is proud to stand beside Mr. Kluge in his effort to practice his faith in the workplace."

The YAF brief can be found here: