School District Pays $650k to Teachers Fired for Opposing Gender Ideology Policy

After a four-year legal battle, two Oregon teachers have reached a settlement of $650,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees, after they were unlawfully terminated for expressing views opposing radical gender ideology.

The settlement was announced last week by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented Rachel Sager (formerly Damiano) and Katie Medart in their suit against Grants Pass School District.

Franklin Graham thanked ADF for their defense of the educators, who spoke against a school district transgender policy.

“In addition to monetary damages, their settlement also includes the school district agreeing to issue a ‘public statement acknowledging that the educators’ wrongful termination fell short of its standards and responsibilities,’” Franklin posted on Facebook, “as well as writing positive letters of recommendation to help them find new employment, removing negative references from their personnel files and revising the school policy to comply with the First Amendment. God bless these teachers for taking a stand for biblically-based views on gender and sexuality—and thank you Alliance Defending Freedom for your important work to defend our freedoms!”

Sager, assistant principal at North Middle School, and Medart, a science teacher, created a personal online platform called “I Resolve,” centered on proposing policies within education that defend students, parents and teachers who do not endorse gender ideology. They did so in response to their school district’s administration memorandum, “Gender Identity, Transgender, Name, and Pronoun Guidance,” which was first circulated in February 2021.

Under Grants Pass School District 7’s memorandum, employees must “accept a student’[s] assertion of his/her/their own gender identity” and “ensure that appropriate accommodations can be made” when a student “approaches District employees to request a change in gender, pronouns or names.” Furthermore, the memorandum requires employees to hide a student’s struggles with sexual identity from parents and facilitate the social transitioning of students without parental knowledge or consent. The memorandum also permits students to use spaces such as restrooms and locker rooms based on gender identity preferences.

Sager and Medart proposed policies to protect teachers who, based on their beliefs, oppose using pronouns that differ from students’ biological sex. The organization also endorsed the designation of showers, locker rooms and restrooms for students or staff based solely on biological sex.

Sager approached the HR director with a draft resolution of the “I Resolve” initiative. She informed Superintendent Kirk Kolb that they intended to “inform the public on this matter of public concern” and “lobby legislators regarding [their] proposed solution.”

Although they initially received positive feedback, other staff complained, leading to their termination.

In 2021, ADF and Pacific Justice Institute filed suit against Grants Pass School District on their behalf.

After a lower court ruled against them, the educators brought their case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which rejected the former ruling. The court remanded the case for trial, leading to the ultimate settlement in which the Grants Pass School District agreed to pay the educators $650,000; issue a public statement acknowledging wrongful termination by the district’s standards; and agreeing to give positive recommendation letters to the teachers, among other agreements.

“Educators are free to express opinions on fundamental issues of public concern—like gender identity education policy—that implicate the freedoms of teachers, parents, and students,” ADF Legal Counsel Matthew Hoffmann said. “The Grants Pass School District is taking the right step by acknowledging that teachers don’t give up their First Amendment rights when they set foot on school property. Public schools can’t retaliate against speech simply because they disagree with what’s said.”