A Kansas school district agreed to settle a lawsuit after suspending a teacher who had refused to use a student’s preferred name and pronouns due to religious reasons. Attorneys for Pamela Ricard called the settlement a “victory for free speech at public schools.” The Geary County School District, where Ricard was employed as a math teacher at Fort Riley Middle School, agreed to pay her $95,000 in damages. Ricard received a three-day suspension during the spring 2021 semester when she would only address a particular student “by the student’s legal and enrolled last name” and not his preferred name or the “he/him” pronouns he uses, according to the lawsuit filed in March. The teacher was warned that any additional misgendering or calling any student by a name they do not go by would lead to further disciplinary action. Ricard asked for a religious exemption for the school’s policy regarding the use of preferred names and pronouns, but the school refused, according to the lawsuit....