VA School District Restores Teacher Fired Over Religious Beliefs

 CHRISTIANSBURG, VA – As a result of Liberty Counsel’s intervention, Montgomery County Public Schools in Virginia has restored a substitute teacher to her position after unlawfully removing her over religious and political beliefs she had expressed on social media. The school district had removed the newly-hired teacher when they discovered her past social media posts expressing her beliefs about gender ideology.

After Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to the school district about how the First Amendment, Title VII, and Virginia law protect teachers to speak on public matters in their private capacity, the district returned the teacher to the approved substitute teacher list.

In September 2024, the teacher completed the hiring process and reported to her first substitute teaching assignment. Only two hours after beginning her first assignment, a school human resources official escorted her out of the building. That same day, the district school board entered a closed session and removed the teacher from the approved list after discovery of the teacher’s protected social media posts. Apparently, she is the only substitute teacher to be removed in this school district for expressing free speech outside of the classroom.

The district’s corrective decision to restore the teacher shows that the law clearly protects teachers to freely express their beliefs in their private capacities. Under the First Amendment, Title VII, and the Virginia Constitution, any citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his or her sentiments on all subjects. Under the Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the “Virginia Values Act,” it is discriminatory and unlawful for an employer to burden the free exercise of religion and refuse to hire or discharge a person with respect to their religion. 

In its letter, Liberty Counsel wrote, “…as interpreted by the Supreme Court of Virginia,…[the teacher] has the right in her capacity as a citizen to freely speak and write regarding her religious views and political views as they are informed by her faith – and neither she nor any other teacher of [the school district] may be penalized for speech expressed in a private capacity – whether that speech takes place pre-employment, or during employment but in a private capacity.”

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The First Amendment guarantees a teacher’s right to speak according to his or her religious beliefs and political values. The school district corrected a potentially costly mistake. Teachers have a right to express their conscience and religious beliefs in their private capacity without fear of retribution from their employer.”