Teacher fired over fidelity to her Christian beliefs just made a California district pay



A California teacher was accused of misconduct and fired last year after refusing to comply with LGBT activists' radical gender dogma at the expense of her Christian faith.

Jessica Tapia previously taught gym, but last week she taught the Jurupa Unified School District that trampling Americans' free exercise of religion and freedom of speech can still prove costly even in a Democrat-dominated state.

Background

In recent years, the JUSD in Riverside County has fully embraced gender ideology, codifying it into its policies.

For instance, the district considers a refusal to address a student "by a name and the pronouns consistent with the student's gender identity" as harassment. Exclusion of a male from girls' bathrooms or from participating in girls' activities similarly qualifies as harassment.

Parents Defending Education highlighted that the JUSD also has a policy that keeps parents in the dark about their children's so-called gender identity.

'The directives required Ms. Tapia lie to parents about their children's gender identity.'

"A student's intersex, nonbinary, transgender or gender-nonconforming status is the student's private information," says the policy. "The district shall only disclose the information to others with the student's prior written consent, except when the disclosure is otherwise required by law or when the district has compelling evidence that disclosure is necessary to preserve the student's physical or mental well-being."

This is in keeping the California Department of Education, which maintains that "disclosing that a student is transgender without the student’s permission may violate California's antidiscrimination law."

When it comes to a JUSD student's effort to reject reality and masquerade as a member of the opposite sex, "the compliance officer may discuss with the student any need to disclose the student's intersex, nonbinary, transgender or gender-nonconformity status or gender identity or gender expression to the student's parents/guardians and/or others, including other students, teacher(s), or other adults on campus."

These policies, which serve to undermine parental rights, are par for the course in California, which has legally enabled transvestic males to invade girls' sports, programs, and restrooms since at least 2013.

Refusal to live by lies

According to her May 2023 complaint, Tapia had worked in the JUSD in various capacities since 2014. Despite apparently enjoying a great rapport with parents, students, and faculty members alike, she received a notice of unprofessional conduct on Sept. 30, 2022.

The suit claims Tapia was accused of "posting offensive content on her public Instagram account, referencing her faith during conversations with students, and expressing controversial opinions on issues pertaining to gender identity."

Tapia has made no secret of her religious views on marriage, transvestism, and sexual orientation, anchoring her understanding in a constitutionally protected biblical worldview.

'God created two sexes: male and female.'

In the wake of the misconduct notice, Tapia was reportedly presented with "A Plan of Assistance and Directives," which required her complicity in the district's advancement of gender ideology and undermining of parental rights.

"The directives required Ms. Tapia lie to parents about their children's gender identity, refer to students by their preferred pronouns, refrain from expressing her religious beliefs with students or on her social media, and allow students to use the bathroom or locker room that matched their preferred sex," said the complaint.

Unable to comply on the basis of her Christian beliefs and altogether unwilling to live by lies, Tapia requested accommodation from the district.

After all, she "believes that God defines human sexuality, and that men and women are created in the image of God," said the complaint. Additionally, she maintains that "God created two sexes: male and female."

She was refused accommodation and was subsequently canned.

Tapia indicated that after reaching out to Charlie Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA, and Pastor Jack Hibbs, the Christian teacher connected with the pro bono law firm Advocates for Faith and Freedom, she then sued the JUSD.

Mariah Gondeiro, then-vice president and legal counsel for Advocates for Faith and Freedom, claimed that "Jessica Tapia was not dismissed for any wrongdoing, rather, she was dismissed for her Christian beliefs. This is a clear violation of our Constitutional rights."

'If the school district's actions were legal, no teacher of faith would be qualified to serve as a public school teacher.'

The lawsuit — which ultimately named the district, superintendent Trenton Hansen, and assistant superintendent Daniel Brooks as defendants — claimed Tapia had been deprive of both the free exercise of religion and the freedom of speech. Additionally, it accused the district of violating the Due Process Clause, Title VII, and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Triumphant

While the JUSD refuses to admit wrongdoing, it approved an out-of-court settlement on May 13. The district will accordingly pay Tapia $285,000 as well as $75,000 for her attorneys' fees.

"Today's settlement serves as a reminder that religious freedom is protected, no matter your career," Julianne Fleischer, legal counsel for Advocates for Faith and Freedom, said in a statement. "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," added Fleischer.

'I want teachers to be confident in the fact that the best thing we can do for students is educate in truth, not deception.'

"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 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."

Per the terms of the settlement, both sides will refrain from badmouthing one another or taking further legal action. Additionally, Tapia agreed not to seek another job with the district.

Tapia appears to have found a calling besides helping the JUSD hide students' confusion from their parents. She has joined forces with Advocates for Faith and Freedom to launch "Teachers Don't Lie."

According to its website, Teacher's Don't Lie "is to support teachers of faith who are feeling the weight of the darkness that has infiltrated the education system. We believe teachers of faith have the right to be in the public education system without sacrificing their convictions and the truth."

The group serves to equip teachers with the constitutional understanding and legal backing to stand firm when their religious beliefs are targeted by radical school districts.

Jacquie Paul, a JUSD spokeswoman, suggested the settlement was a "compromise of a disputed claim," reported the Los Angeles Times.

"The decision to settle this case was made ... in the best interest of the students, such that the district can continue to dedicate all of its resources and efforts to educate and support its student population regardless of their protected class," said Paul.

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Seattle scraps gifted and talented school programs because they supposedly had too many white and Asian students



Seattle Public Schools is effectively killing off its gifted and talented program, caving to leftists in and outside the district who have long complained about the racial demographics of the Highly Capable Cohort program, which evidently failed to satisfy their utopian expectations.

Forsaking quality and meritocracy, SPS has indicated it will instead pursue an alternative that will supposedly be "more inclusive, equitable, and culturally sensitive."

Background

State law has long required that Washington schools provide and maintain programs "for highly capable students."

Qualifying students are those "who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels when compared with others of their age, experiences, or environments. Outstanding abilities are seen within students' general intellectual aptitudes, specific academic abilities, and/or creative productivities within a specific domain."

By virtue of highly capable students of any race being academically superior to other students, they are necessarily unequal.

The Seattle Times reported that as of last year, the HCC comprised roughly 5,700 students. This cohort is made up of those who scored in the top 2% on standardized exams.

Unsurprisingly, recognition of this inequality has been a sore point for leftists who figure that education ought not only to standardize generations of children by their low standards but also to produce so-called equitable outcomes.

Former SPS superintendent Denis Juneau called for dismantling the HCC program in 2019, claiming, "It is very [racially] disproportionate."

The identitarian NAACP Youth Council and other leftist groups have championed the elimination of the program in the years since, claiming it was "built upon a foundation of white supremacy and constructed with the intent to perpetuate the segregation of schools on the basis of race and socioeconomic status."

The NAACP Youth Council noted that in the 2020-2021 school year, only 1.8% of the district's 8,130 black students, then amounting to 15% of the student body, were eligible for the HCC. 13.4% of Asian students and 63.2% of white students, who altogether accounted for 13.1% and 45.6% of the overall student body, respectively, were eligible. 16.2% of mixed-race students and 5.25% of Hispanics were eligible.

In the 2022-2023 school year, the Seattle Times indicated that 52% of HCC students at SPS were white, 16% were Asian, and 3.4% were black.

"We, the NAACP Youth Council, want the HCC program abolished from SPS," wrote the identitarians. "Every student deserves an equitable and anti-racist education that recognizes their brilliance. A program built to discriminate against students has no room for fixing."

Indistinction

SPS began phasing out HCC schools in 2021. All will apparently be eliminated by 2027. In the way of HCC institutions affiliated with the district, there are presently three elementary schools, five middle schools, and three high schools.

The next step in the war on excellence and distinction will be the implementation of the so-called "Highly Capable Neighborhood School Model" in every school beginning in September 2024.

Under this model, students of all abilities will be lumped into the same classroom. Teachers will then reportedly be tasked with creating individualized learning plans for each of their 20 to 30 students.

According to SPS, "All teachers will provide teaching and learning that is delivered with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and differentiated to meet the needs of students within their grade level. The approach includes three tiers of service for students depending on individual needs, delivered in a way that honors individual cultures and backgrounds."

While all students will participate in Tier 1 learning, individuals flagged as needing more advanced or involved learning will be awarded Tier 2 services. After participating in Tier 1 and Tier 2 services, students, now assessed yearly, found still needing "something in addition to meet their complex needs," will receive Tier 3 services.

Critics suspect that SPS will ultimately bungle the implementation of its new scheme, especially because its $105 million deficit means it lacks the funds to train teachers on how to help highly capable students, reported the Seattle Times.

Teachers have complained anonymously to KOMO-TV that the district has provided teachers with no extra time, aid in the classroom, curricular help, or compensation to meet the unique needs of every student in a single classroom.

"I was a classroom teacher for 14 years. It's really hard to provide services to students when you have a group of kindergartners learning phonics and then you have a kindergarten[er] that's like fluently reading Harry Potter," said Reby Parsley, a gifted education specialist with the Washington Association of Educators of the Talented and Gifted.

"It seems to me that kids on maybe both extremes are going to be underserved," Erika Ruberry, a parent of a second-grader at a HCC elementary, told the Times.

Karen Stukovsky, a mother who has three kids at HCC schools, said, "You have some kids who can barely read and some kids who are reading 'Harry Potter' in first grade or kindergarten. How are you going to not only get those kids up to grade level and also challenge those kids who are already way above grade level?"

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