Document Type
Article
Abstract
This Essay addresses the question of how public schools should address existing tensions between employee religious rights and student identity and expression when a teacher refuses to use a student’s chosen name and pronouns. Guiding this issue and the practice for public school officials to follow is a 2024 decision of a federal district court in Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School District, and guidance published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. While the court in Kluge recognized the substantial increased costs to the school of granting the religious accommodation when students are involved, the EEOC affirmed the need to balance individual rights in the workplace to avoid the creation of a hostile environment. Ultimately, these developments produce two key considerations for public school districts when dealing with religious accommodations that are discriminatory based on sex: hardship and hostility. There are many factors at play, but of most importance and worthy of heightened levels of consideration is the student.
Recommended Citation
Maggie L. Paino, Suzanne Eckes, Religious Accommodations for Educators: A Reexamination of Undue Burden in the Public School Classroom, 16 ConLawNOW 15 (2024)