Brownsburg Schools to Pay $650K to Former Teacher

INDIANAPOLIS —Brownsburg Community School Corporation has agreed to pay $650,000 to a former music teacher who resigned after objecting to a policy requiring staff to use transgender students’ preferred names and pronouns. The district also plans to provide senior staff training on religious discrimination.

John Kluge, who taught orchestra at Brownsburg High School, resigned in 2018 after the district reaffirmed its policy that teachers call transgender students by their chosen names and pronouns. The district initially allowed Kluge to use students’ last names only, but some students said this made them feel singled out, and others reported the classroom environment became uncomfortable.

Kluge filed a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination, but most courts sided with the district, noting that the accommodations initially offered created classroom issues and disrupted learning. A change in how courts handle religious accommodation cases allowed part of the lawsuit to move toward a jury, prompting the district to settle rather than continue litigation.

The settlement ends a legal battle that began in 2017 when Kluge raised objections to the district’s policy. In addition to the $650,000 payout, the district will train senior staff on how federal law protects employees’ religious beliefs.

District officials emphasized that the settlement does not reflect any wrongdoing, noting that they had previously won most of Kluge’s legal claims.