The Virginia Supreme Court says a lawsuit from a former West Point teacher who was fired after refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns can proceed. 

Peter Vlaming, a former West Point High School French teacher, used the student’s preferred name but avoided using pronouns at all when referring to the student, who used masculine pronouns.

Vlaming claims the School Board ordered him to use the student’s preferred pronouns, which he said went against his religious beliefs.

In his lawsuit against the school board, Vlaming said his constitutional rights to free speech and religious expression were violated when the board fired him for insubordination in 2018. 

West Point Schools said the former teacher violated the district’s anti-discrimination policy.

Vlaming sued for $1 million and wanted his job back. A circuit court judge dismissed Vlaming’s suit in 2021, but the state Supreme Court’s decision this week means it can go forward. 

The lawsuit will go back to the Circuit Court level, where Vlaming can make his case.

Vlaming’s lawsuit is being handled by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian group that’s filed similar lawsuits in other states. The organization is designated as an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

NOTE: West Point Public Schools is a member of the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association, which holds the broadcast license for WHRO.

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