CV NEWS FEED // A Wisconsin teacher is suing a school that fired him for not using students’ preferred pronouns, even though it had previously accommodated his religious beliefs on the matter.
Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) reports that Jordan Cernek filed a lawsuit against Argyle School District, arguing that the school violated his First Amendment right to freedom of religion and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees from religious discrimination.
Cernek, a high school English teacher, taught in the district from 2021 to 2023. During an August 2022 in-service, “the district announced a policy requiring staff members to use the preferred names and pronouns of transgender students,” WPR explains. Cernek was present and explained his religious objection to the policy.
That school year, “two transgender students in two of Cernek’s classes asked staff to refer to them using their preferred names,” WPR reports. Cernek discussed his religious objection to using the new names with district administrator Mike Beranek. Beranek allowed him the accommodation of avoiding directly addressing the students by name.
Two months later, the district informed Cernek that he must refer to the students by their new names or else he would be fired. His lawsuit states:
Mr. Cernek could not in good conscience comply with this requirement, so he did not refer to the transgender students by their preferred names. Instead, Mr. Cernek continued to act in accordance with the accommodation he was previously granted and avoided referring to students by name.
Cernek’s contract was not renewed for the school year of 2023-2024.
Cernek stated: “The district policy would force me to go against my conviction and commitment to God. I did everything within my power to accommodate the needs of my students without compromising my faith.”
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is representing Cernek in his lawsuit. They are a conservative law firm and they have led several similar cases against schools, WPR reports.
