But Ricard, who thinks that God decides a person’s gender at birth, thought that using the student’s chosen name would be against her faith. She decided to call the student by their last name, before calling them “miss.”
When Ricard made her choice, the school system quickly criticised it and suspended her under its policies on bullying and diversity. The teacher was shocked and upset by what the district did.
The school district decided to settle the case for $95,000, which was a big win for Ricard. As part of the settlement, the district also decided to get rid of its policy on parental communications, which put students’ needs ahead of parents’ and teachers’ rights.
The story of Ricard is a strong reminder of how important it is to protect free speech and faith in our schools.
Because Ricard took a brave stand, we now have an important conversation about how to balance the rights of all kids, parents, and teachers in our schools. We need to put the values of respect, acceptance, and free speech that are at the heart of our democracy first as we move forward.
