Peter Vlaming Firing (2018)

Peter Vlaming Firing (2018) — A Virginia high school French teacher was fired in 2018 for refusing to use a transgender student's preferred pronouns; he subsequently won his case before the Virginia Supreme Court and reached a $575,000 settlement.

Summary

Peter Vlaming was a French teacher at West Point High School in King William County, Virginia. In 2018, one of his students socially transitioned and requested to be referred to by masculine pronouns. Vlaming, citing his Christian religious beliefs, agreed to use the student's chosen name but declined to use masculine pronouns, instead attempting to avoid using pronouns altogether when referring to the student. School administrators deemed this insufficient compliance with the district's gender-identity policy.

After refusing a direct order from school administrators to use the student's preferred pronouns, Vlaming was terminated by the West Point School Board in December 2018. He sued the school board, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian legal advocacy organization. The case raised significant First Amendment questions about compelled speech and the extent to which public school employees can be required to use specific pronouns as a condition of employment.

In December 2023, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled in Vlaming's favor, holding that the school board had violated his free speech and free exercise rights under the Virginia Constitution. The court revived his lawsuit. Following that ruling, the West Point School Board agreed in September–October 2024 to pay Vlaming $575,000 to settle the case. The case drew national attention as a significant legal test of pronoun-use policies in public schools.

Key Details

Date: December 2018 (termination); December 2023 (Virginia Supreme Court ruling); October 2024 (settlement)
Location: West Point High School, King William County, Virginia
Key People: Peter Vlaming (teacher); West Point School Board; Alliance Defending Freedom (legal counsel)
Outcome: Virginia Supreme Court ruled in Vlaming's favor (2023); $575,000 settlement reached (2024)

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