Ohio school board says its gender identity policy follows federal law after former teacher files lawsuit

(Daily Caller) – An Ohio school board said its stance on gender identity is following federal law in its first meeting after a lawsuit, according to the Canton Repository.

Vivian Geraghty, a former Jackson Memorial Middle School teacher, filed a lawsuit on Dec. 12, alleging that she was forced to resign after she refused to call a student by their preferred pronouns which did not align with their biological sex, according to the Canton Repository. In the first Jackson Local School Board meeting following the lawsuit, the board said the district is following state and federal laws on gender identity.

“The way students identify themselves can be fluid,” Christopher DiLoreto, superintendent of Jackson Local School District, said at the board meeting. “Students come to us with a lot of different needs, and we are doing the best we can to meet their needs while remaining in compliance with federal and state laws.”

The school board stated that it does not have a specific policy for how teachers should address student’s gender identity, but it is focused on following the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed Title IX revisions which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and the gender identity in federally funded institutions, the Canton Repository reported. Under the revisions to Title IX, schools must allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms on the basis of gender identity.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Logan Spena stated that “it was [Geraghty’s] Christian faith that made her unable to participate in her students’ social transition,” the Canton Repository reported. Geraghty alleged that after she refused to participate in the student’s “social transition” administrators forced her to resign from the school.

The school board distributed a letter to parents at the board meeting addressing the lawsuit stating that the school district’s priority is creating “the best learning environment while respecting individual and cultural differences,” the Canton Repository reported.

Alliance Defending Freedom and the Jackson Local School Board did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.