Indiana school district to pay nearly $200K after firing counselor who spoke about gender identity policy – ADF Media

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a school counselor fired after speaking to a journalist about a school district’s gender identity policy have settled a federal lawsuit she brought against the district. As part of the settlement, the school district will pay $195,000 for damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.

In August 2021, the South Madison Community School Corporation issued a directive that required counselors and other employees to use, upon a student’s request, names and pronouns for the student that do not correspond with his or her sex—without notifying parents or seeking parental consent. In some cases, it even required employees to hide the new names and pronouns from parents. School counselor Kathy McCord, a 37-year veteran educator, objected to the directive, which required her to speak in ways that violate her sincerely held religious beliefs. When a reporter asked McCord about South Madison’s directive, she confirmed the accuracy of information about it that he had already gathered from other sources. Soon after the reporter published his story, the school district fired McCord.

“No American should be fired for expressing her beliefs, especially not an educator speaking in her personal capacity, on her own time, and out of concern for her students,” said ADF Senior Counsel Vincent Wagner. “Kathy knows that kids do best when schools and parents work together. But South Madison left parents in the dark. It’s regrettable that South Madison made Kathy endure three years of litigation to get to this point, but we are pleased with this result for Kathy.”

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