# @thekansascitystar on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch-Z6WShaqp
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/19115779-thekansascitystar-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/17c397022f.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-09-01T19:00:49.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Kansas City Star (@thekansascitystar) — https://gondola.cc/thekansascitystar

## Caption

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.
 
The Geary County School District said it had no comment on Wednesday, Aug. 31.
 
Read more at the link in our bio. ✏️ Mike Stunson
 
#Kansas #KansasNews #GearyCounty #Pronouns #lgbtq

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 393
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 49

## Tags

gearycounty, lgbtq, pronouns, kansas, kansasnews

---
Copyright (c) Gondola