A female Christian public school teacher fired from her job at the Jurupa School District in Riverside County will get paid $360,000 under a deal to settle her lawsuit accusing the district of violating her religious freedom by firing her after she refused to stop posting about her faith on social media, stop discussing her faith with students and refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns.
On May 13, the Jurupa Unified School District Board approved the settlement agreement in the lawsuit brought by teacher Jessica Tapia.
"Today's settlement serves as a reminder that religious freedom is protected, no matter your career," said Tapia's attorney Julianne Fleischer of the nonprofit legal advocacy organization Advocates for Faith and Freedom, of Murietta.
"If the school district's actions were legal, no teacher of faith would be qualified to serve as a public school teacher. Jessica's story is one of faithful courage."
Tapia filed suit against the Jurupa district last summer, after the district suspended and then fired her, allegedly trampling her religious freedom in the process.
According to court documents, Tapia had worked as a teacher at the Jurupa district since 2014 in various capacities, but most recently as a physical education teacher at Jurupa Valley High School, beginning in 2021.
At the end of the 2021-2022 school year, JVHS students allegedly left "disturbing messages and comments" on Tapia's personal Instagram account, on which she would post about her faith and personal thoughts.
According to court documents, Tapia never identified herself as a teacher, nor did she imply her messages were endorsed by JVHS or the school district.
However, following those student messages, Tapia claimed she was forced to meet with district administrators about her personal social media posts. She was then placed on paid leave.
From there, district administrators launched an investigation, and accused Tapia of posting messages that were "racist, offensive, disrespectful, and mocking towards individuals based upon their sexual orientation."
Tapia denied the allegations. She conceded she is "unabashed about her faith ... and shares her religious beliefs on issues such as marriage, sexual orientation, and transgenderism." But she called the district's assertions a "mischaracterization."
Later, Tapia was also allegedly accused of proselytizing at school, and "of not calling a student by the student's preferred pronoun."
The investigation process allegedly resulted in a directive from the school district to address all students by their preferred pronouns and to refrain from posting or talking at school about her faith.
Tapia indicated she could not comply with those directives, but sought religious accommodations. The district refused, saying to grant the accommodations would violate California and federal law. The district then fired Tapia.
Tapia then filed suit, accusing the district of violating her religious freedom rights and religious discrimination, among other claims.
While the district succeeded in dismissing the counts in her lawsuit aimed at the district itself. But Tapia's lawsuit was allowed to continue against Jurupa School Superintendent Trenton Hansen and Assistant Superintendent Daniel Brooks, who led the investigation.
The district ultimately agreed to pay Tapia $360,000 to settle the claims.
Tapia had initially sought court orders requiring the district to rehire her. But in a report published by Catholic News Agency, Tapia instead said she now wishes to homeschool her three children and to partner with Advocates for Faith and Freedom on a new project, called Teachers Don't Lie, designed to provide legal support and guidance to other public educators facing the prospect of being forced by their employers' policies and directives to choose between their faith and their jobs.
“What happened to me can happen to anybody, and I want the next teacher to know that it is worth it to take a stand for what is right,” Tapia said in a statement issued by Advocates for Faith and Freedom.
The case was pending in the Central District of California federal court.