California Teacher Fired for her Religious Beliefs Settles with California School District
On May 13, the Jurupa Unified School District Board approved a settlement agreement between Jessica Tapia and the Jurupa Unified School District to settle her lawsuit for $360,000. Last year, Advocates for Faith and Freedom filed a lawsuit challenging Jurupa Unified School District in the Central District of California after the wrongful termination of public school teacher Jessica Tapia for her religious beliefs. Her termination came after the school district refused to accommodate Jessica’s religious beliefs, which conflicted with the school district’s harmful policies, such as referring to students by their preferred pronouns and withholding information from parents regarding their child’s gender identity.
Advocates for Faith and Freedom and Jessica are joining forces to launch Teachers Don’t Lie, a campaign to support teachers of faith who are feeling the weight of the darkness that has infiltrated the education system. Teachers Don’t Lie aims to provide educators with a thorough understanding of their constitutional rights, as well as give options on how to respond to their school district when being asked to go against their sincerely held religious beliefs.
“Today’s settlement serves as a reminder that religious freedom is protected, no matter your career,” said Julianne Fleischer, legal counsel for Advocates for Faith and Freedom. “If the school district’s actions were legal, no teacher of faith would be qualified to serve as a public school teacher. Jessica’s story is one of faithful courage. She fought back to ensure her school district was held accountable and that no other teacher has to succumb to this type of discrimination.”
“What happened to me can happen to anybody, and I want the next teacher to know that it is worth it to take a stand for what is right,” said Jessica Tapia. “Across the country, we are seeing teachers’ freedom of speech and religious liberty violated through policies that require them to forsake their morals. I want teachers to be confident in the fact that the best thing we can do for students is educate in truth, not deception. This is why I’m joining forces with Advocates for Faith and Freedom to launch Teachers Don’t Lie, a resource that will be committed to giving a voice of truth to teachers. I am confident that we are making progress to ensure that no teacher has their faith violated within schoolhouse gates again.”
Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.
(SOURCE: Advocates for Faith & Freedom via Christian Newswire)
