US EditionIndiana school pays ousted teacher $650K in transgender policy dispute
Brownsburg schools will pay $650,000 and train staff after nearly eight years of litigation over a teacher's refusal to use transgender students' preferred names and pronouns.
- On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, Brownsburg Community School Corporation agreed to settle John Kluge's suit for $650,000 and filed a joint petition to dismiss the case.
- The district's 2017 policy update required staff to use database names, leading Kluge to object on religious grounds; his accommodation was rescinded in 2018, prompting his resignation.
- The dispute traveled through federal courts, including the 7th Circuit, bouncing between Southern Indiana U.S. District Court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals over nearly eight years.
- The district said it settled for financial reasons while maintaining its policy did not infringe Kluge's rights and will train senior staff on Title VII protections.
- Advocates say the deal underscores Title VII's accommodation duties for employers and reaffirms that "teachers do not have to bow the knee to ideological mandates," ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman said.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Brownsburg Schools Agree To Pay $650K To Former Teacher
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