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We didn’t expect everyone to agree with our ideas, we just wanted to start a conversation about a topic of deep public interest and concern and offer solutions that could best help our community, and our nation, serve vulnerable children.
It’s one thing to have our suggestions ignored or vehemently opposed, but it’s quite another to not be allowed to speak at all and to be fired for what we said.
Yet that is exactly what happened to us, two public school teachers in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Our goal was to promote “reasonable, loving and tolerant solutions” for gender identity education policies that “respect the rights of all people.” (iStock)
We have both worked in education for many years — Rachel was assistant principal at North Middle School in Grants Pass and Katie taught science there — and we are big believers in public education and love the work we do, having dedicated our careers to serving students and their families and supporting teachers who often suffer from burnout.
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But we have begun to notice a disturbing trend of parents being excluded from the discussion when their child is struggling with gender dysphoria, and teachers being asked to lie to parents and students against their conscience.
So we started a grassroots organization called “I Resolve” on our personal online platform to debate local, state, and national policy proposals and work together to find solutions that would benefit us all. Our stated goal was to promote “reasonable, loving, and tolerant solutions” for gender identity education policies that “respect the rights of all.”
Our faith is of utmost importance to us and we must follow our core religious beliefs whether at home, in church or in our education at school. Of course, we knew that not everyone shares our core beliefs. Our main goal in starting this discussion was to bring together our diverse community and explore possible solutions to a divisive issue.
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The solution we proposed respected the rights of students and parents and allowed teachers to continue teaching without violating their consciences.
Everything we proposed was measured against one criterion: Does this work for everyone?
Simply put, we were replicating the solutions our school district taught us, and Rachel shared our efforts with HR and the superintendent and had productive discussions with them.
We were careful to speak in our individual capacities as private citizens and did not single out any school district or school. In fact, our district’s policy encouraged educators to make policy suggestions. After all, it is often teachers who have the most informed ideas about how to serve their students and their parents.
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However, after several people complained about the content of our speech, the school administration did a complete about-face. We were asked to remove the video from our personal platforms, we were called into the superintendent’s office, and while Katie was in her chemistry class, another vice principal came into the classroom and told the students to pack their bags right before class started.
The school authorities suspended and then fired both of us for expressing our personal opinions outside of school and work hours.
We filed a lawsuit against the school authorities because we knew that their actions violated our First Amendment rights. The district court ruled against us, and with the help of the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Pacific Justice Institute, we asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to hear our case, which was heard on June 3rd.
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We will continue to fight for truth, advocate for real policies, and stand up for the kids they deserve and their parents need.
And hardworking educators across the country deserve to work in schools that respect their faith and fundamental beliefs — schools that don’t retaliate against them for holding views different from their own.
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Katie Medarto lives in Grants Pass, Oregon.
