Vlaming v. West Point School Board

Case Summary

Peter Vlaming taught French at a public high school for years before he was fired over the issue of a student’s pronouns and over the walkout protests of other students. Vlaming learned that one of his students, a biological female, wished to be addressed by male pronouns. To not draw attention to the student’s new transition, and because he could not personally use male pronouns for the student, he instructed his French class to choose new French names for the semester, so that this student would not be the only student changing names. Vlaming addressed the student by a new name—in English and French—and avoided using pronouns altogether to address the student. But the school wanted ideological conformity—it wanted Vlaming not just to avoid using pronouns, but to affirm that this student was now a male through his speech. Moreover, the school claimed that it was empowered to compel Vlaming to use specific pronouns in the classroom because of the school’s requirement to comply with federal statutes; specifically, Title IX, a federal prohibition on sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funds.

Vlaming could not, in good conscience, refer to a biological female as a male. It would not only violate his religious beliefs, but he felt that he would be lying to students that gender is not fixed. On one occasion, Vlaming also accidentally shouted, “Don’t let her hit the wall!” during a class activity involving virtual reality goggles when the student nearly walked into a wall. The school suspended Vlaming the next day. Vlaming sued the school district for, among other things, compelling him to speak and violating his religious beliefs, thus infringing on his First Amendment rights.

Case History

• 2012: Peter Vlaming is hired by West Point High School to teach French.
• 2018: Vlaming learns one of his French students, a biological female, wishes to be referred to as male.
• Fall 2018: Vlaming has his entire French class change their names to avoid drawing attention to the student in question. Vlaming refers to the student using her new name in English and French.
• October 2018: The student requests to meet with Vlaming to discuss the fact that he still refers to her using feminine pronouns when she is not present. After the meeting, he calls the student’s parent as a professional courtesy. The parent tells Vlaming to disregard his own principles and beliefs and refer to the student as male. After relaying this discussion to the Principal, the Principal instructs Vlaming to “do whatever the parents ask.” Vlaming is given documents about transgender rights and is told he should be aware of the law surrounding pronoun usage.  The “law” the school relies upon, however, is not law but is advocacy pamphlets referring to rescinded guidance from the Department of Education.
• Late October 2018: Vlaming exclaims, “Don’t let her hit the wall!” during a virtual reality classroom activity.
• November 2018: Vlaming is suspended from West Point High School. The school “treated his attempted accommodation of the student by avoiding the use of pronouns as a violation of the School Board policy prohibiting harassment or retaliation against students and others on the basis of gender identity.”
• September 2019: Alliance Defending Freedom files a complaint on behalf of Peter Vlaming.