A California school district has agreed to pay $360,000 to settle a lawsuit from a former teacher who was fired last year after refusing to follow policies regarding transgender or gender-nonconforming students, citing her Christian beliefs.
Jessica Tapia, who taught P.E. at Jurupa Valley High School in Riverside County, claimed in her wrongful termination suit that her free speech and religious rights were violated. She had refused to use students’ preferred pronouns, allow them in locker rooms matching their gender identity, or withhold information about a child’s gender identity from parents.
Under the settlement signed Tuesday, the Jurupa Unified School District will pay Tapia $285,000, plus $75,000 for her attorneys at the religious liberty group Advocates for Faith & Freedom. Tapia also agreed not to seek future district employment.
“Her religious beliefs were not accommodated when they could have been,” said Julianne Fleischer, one of Tapia’s lawyers. “We think it sends a strong message that there’s a price to pay when you ask a teacher to lie and withhold information.”
The district maintained the settlement was simply a “compromise of a disputed claim” made in students’ best interests. Spokesperson Jacquie Paul said it will continue following laws protecting LGBTQ students from harassment and discrimination.
The case highlights growing legal battles over balancing transgender student rights with parental rights and teachers’ religious beliefs. California law requires schools to keep a student’s gender identity private from parents unless permitted.
Tapia’s firing stemmed from her social media posts which students found offensive regarding transgender people and religion. When asked to curb her activity and follow certain policies, she refused, citing Christian beliefs “regarding human sexuality and lying.”
Tapia requested a religious accommodation, but the district denied it and terminated her in January 2023 after eight years of employment.
She had publicly supported a failed bill requiring teachers to disclose to parents if a child was transitioning genders. Tapia is now helping lead Advocates for Faith & Freedom’s “Teachers Don’t Lie” campaign supporting educators who feel school policies compromise their faith.
Fleischer said while respecting the transgender community, “religious rights are not second class.”