A Christian former teacher in California filed a new federal lawsuit against a public school district Wednesday, claiming she was wrongfully fired after refusing to lie to parents about their children’s gender identities.Â
Jessica Tapia, a former high school phys ed teacher in Riverside, California, is suing Jurupa Unified School District superintendent Trenton Hansen and Assistant Superintendent Daniel Brooks, alleging she was deprived of her free exercise of religion and freedom of speech.Â
The lawsuit, filed on Tapia’s behalf by Advocates for Faith & Freedom in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, also alleges a violation of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, a violation of Title VIII and retaliation in violation of the First Amendment.
Despite her two-decade involvement with the district as both a student and a teacher, Tapia was fired for alleged misconduct after the district accused her of posting offensive content on her Instagram account, referencing her faith during conversations with students and improperly expressing her opinions on issues pertaining to the LGBTQ community, the filing says.Â
CHRISTIAN TEACHER LOSES JOB AFTER REFUSING TO DECEIVE PARENTS ON KIDS’ GENDER TRANSITIONS: ‘FROM THE DEVIL’
Following a notice of unprofessional conduct, the district presented Tapia with “A Plan of Assistance and Directives,” which included several written and verbal directives requiring the teacher to “lie to parents about their children’s gender identity, to refrain from posting content on her social media pages that would ‘adversely affect’ her relationship with students and banned her from expressing her religious beliefs with students,” according to the lawsuit. Â
Tapia said she was unable to comply with several of the directives due to her religious beliefs and requested an accommodation, but the district terminated her employment Jan. 30.Â
Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a nonprofit dedicated to…
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