But the next day, when Ricard used the student’s last name — avoiding the new name or any pronouns at all — the classmate grew frustrated, leaving a note on Ricard’s desk accusing the teacher of being “transphobic.”
The note ended with a remark on the classmate’s own gender identity: “my pronouns are he/they btw.”
In a lawsuit, Ricard — who is Christian — says she was uncomfortable with referring to the students by names and pronouns that were different from what was listed in the district’s enrollment system. After some disagreement with school officials on how to handle the situation, Ricard was suspended and later issued a written reprimand for her refusal to comply with the district’s policies on diversity and inclusion.
Now, Ricard is suing Geary County Schools Unified School District board members, the superintendent and Fort Riley Middle School’s principal, alleging that they violated her First Amendment rights by forcing her to use language and implementing policies that breached her personal and religious beliefs.
“Ms. Ricard believes that God created human beings as either male or female, that this sex is fixed in each person from the moment of conception, and that it cannot be changed, regardless of an individual person’s feelings, desires, or preferences,” states the complaint, which was recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. “Any policy that requires Ms. Ricard to refer to a student by a gendered, nonbinary, or plural pronoun (e.g., he/him, she/her, they/them, zhe/zher, etc.) or salutation (Mr., Miss, Ms.) or other gendered language that is different from the student’s biological sex actively violates Ms. Ricard’s religious beliefs.”
Ricard alleges that she was unjustly suspended and reprimanded for the incidents involving the two students, despite the school and the district having no “formal policy regarding student preferred name and pronoun use at the time she was suspended and reprimanded.”
Ricard also claims school officials have denied her religious accommodations.
“The District and the Defendants now threaten to punish Ms. Ricard again if she continues to refrain from using a student’s preferred pronouns, express her views through silence or neutral language, or even engage in a neutral policy of referring to students by their enrolled last names or with other gender-neutral language,” the lawsuit states.
Neither Geary County Schools Unified School District legal counsel Mark Edwards nor district officials responded to messages from The Washington Post. Edwards told CNN the district has no comment.
The teacher is suing at a pivotal moment in the fight for transgender rights in schools across the country. Last week, Florida legislators passed a bill intended to limit what educators can tell students in kindergarten through third grade about topics involving sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill is now on the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has said he is likely to sign it. Also last week, a Texas judge suspended Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s order aimed at handling gender-affirming care as child abuse.
The first classroom incident, when the teacher called the student “miss,” happened April 7, 2021.
Court records state that the school counselor emailed Ricard that day to share that the student “would like to be called” by a “preferred alternative first name.” Ricard claims the counselor “did not specify anything” about the student’s last name or advise that the teacher could not use the student’s last name. Ricard also points out in her lawsuit that the counselor used the pronoun “she” to refer to the student.
Hours later, Ricard called the student “miss” before using the student’s last name, prompting the email from the classmate. In the email, the classmate told Ricard that the student now used he/him pronouns and a different first name, according to the lawsuit.
A day later, Ricard allegedly called the same student she had addressed as “miss” by the student’s last name when she needed to get the student’s attention at some point during math class.
The classmate who had advocated for the student a day before walked to Ricard’s desk and left a note before leaving the room without the teacher’s permission, court records state.
The note read: “his pronouns are He/Him & if you cant act like an Adult & respect him & his pronouns then prepare yourself to deal with his mother since you cant be a decent human being and respect him. All youre doing right now is showing that youre transphobic & don’t care that youre being visibly transphobic.”
The classmate also requested to be called by an alternative first name, adding “my pronouns are he/they btw.”
On April 9, school officials called Ricard to the conference room to discuss the incidents, according to her lawsuit. Ricard told them she “didn’t think we should be calling students different names without parental consent” but agreed to follow the administration’s directives — even if they went against her personal beliefs and her religion.
That same day, she received an email announcing a three-day paid suspension while officials investigated her for 11 possible violations of board policies, according to the complaint. On April 15, when Ricard returned from her suspension, school officials gave her a written reprimand for allegedly violating three of the board’s policies and ordered Ricard to use the same names and pronouns her students used for themselves. Ricard signed the written reprimand but wrote “I do not agree with this!” court records state.
A week after Ricard returned from her suspension, the principal sent teachers documents on gender identity, as well as a document regarding the “Use of Preferred Names and Pronouns.”
In October, the district enacted a policy that requires all teachers to use the same names and pronouns their students do, the complaint states.
In the months that followed her suspension and written reprimand, Ricard appealed the disciplinary action at least three times, according to the lawsuit. The school board denied all of her appeals.
As of March 3, Ricard has at least two students in her classes with stated pronouns that don’t match their biological sex, the complaint says.
Ricard, the lawsuit says, could be fired at any time if she fails to comply with the mandated policy: “Ms. Ricard faces the imminent possibility of subsequent disciplinary action, up to and including termination, should she violate the District Policies by seeking, consistent with her conscience and religious beliefs, to avoid the use of preferred pronouns of students or employees that are different from the student’s or employee’s biological sex.”