‘Common sense has prevailed’: Teacher who wouldn’t call ‘Johnny’ ‘Susie’ gets 6-figure payout from district

An Indiana school district has agreed to pay a former music teacher $650,000 after he brought a religious discrimination suit.

What was John Kluge’s “crime”? He refused to refer to students by names that were inconsistent with their sex. Brownsburg Community School Corporation forced the orchestra teacher to resign over the issue.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys announced Tuesday that the settlement in the suit had been reached.

“After almost five and a half years, common sense has prevailed at Brownsburg,” said ADF’s David Cortman. “This settlement confirms what the law has always said: Public schools cannot force teachers to violate their religious beliefs. Title VII requires employers to accommodate their employees’ religious beliefs and practices. When they fail to do so – or worse, announce that they will grant no religious accommodations, as Brownsburg did – they can be held accountable. We hope this settlement shows teachers that they do not have to bow the knee to ideological mandates that violate their religious beliefs. And schools should learn that refusing to accommodate religious employees can be illegal and expensive.”

In 2017, Kluge had reached a compromise with the district, agreeing to refer to students strictly by their last names, like a coach would.

After a few students and teachers complained, however, Brownsburg announced a new policy that rejected all religious accommodations, revoked its accommodation for Kluge, and forced him to resign.

ADF brought the suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. As part of the settlement agreement, Brownsburg will train its senior staff on how Title VII protects religious employees against discrimination.