Last month, an Ohio school district agreed to pay a $450,000 settlement to a middle school teacher who resigned after refusing to use two transgender students’ preferred names and pronouns. The teacher, Vivian Geraghty, claimed her religious beliefs were violated and argued that being forced to comply infringed her First Amendment rights.
Deadnamed Dispute
The controversy started on the first day of school in August 2022. Two of Geraghty’s students requested that she use names that aligned with their gender identity, differing from their given names on the official school roster.
Geraghty, citing her Christian faith, declined the request and continued using their “deadnames,” a term referring to the names assigned at birth that do not align with the individuals’ stated gender identities.
One student later emailed Geraghty, reiterating the request, but…
