Courts Impact School Policy: Balancing Students’ Civil Rights With Educators’ Speech and Religious Rights in the Classroom

• In Event: Courts and Civil Rights

Abstract

In Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School District (2024), a federal court found that a school district did not need to make religious accommodations for a teacher who refused to use students’ correct pronouns in class. This court decision is particularly significant because it was one of the first to examine the religious accommodation issue in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 Groff v. DeJoy ruling.
This legal analysis provides new insights for school personnel, policy makers, and education law attorneys about this emerging area of jurisprudence that addresses the intersection of employee and student rights. Aligning with this year’s conference theme, the paper works across disciplines (i.e., law, education, and policy) to create deeper connections in our field.

Authors

• Suzanne E. Eckes, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Maggie Paino, University of Wisconsin - Madison