Skip to content
Active U.S. Courts of Appeals

Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corporation

Indiana music and orchestra teacher John Kluge playing the cello outdoors

Summary

Indiana music and orchestra teacher John Kluge is challenging the legality of Brownsburg Community School Corporation’s decision to revoke his religious accommodation over students’ pronoun usage. When the school district mandated that teachers call students by their preferred gender pronouns and names, Kluge requested a religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to call all his students by their last names only—like a coach—instead of referring to female students with male names and pronouns and vice versa. The school district granted Kluge’s request based on his religious beliefs, and Kluge successfully continued teaching under the religious accommodation for an entire school year. But in response to the grumblings of a few students and faculty, the school district revoked the religious accommodation and forced Kluge to resign, ending his teaching career.

Case Documents

Court
Title
Date
Appellate Court
8/30/2024
Appellate Court
7/17/2024
Appellate Court
7/15/2024
Appellate Court
7/10/2024
Trial Court
4/30/2024
Appellate Court
7/20/2023
Appellate Court
4/25/2023
Appellate Court
7/14/2022
Appellate Court
10/1/2021
Trial Court
7/12/2021

Case Profiles

Image
David Cortman
David A. Cortman
Senior Counsel, Vice President of U.S. Litigation
David A. Cortman serves as senior counsel and vice president of U.S. litigation with Alliance Defending Freedom.
Image
Travis Barham
Travis Barham
Senior Counsel
Travis C. Barham serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he plays a key role with the ADF Center for Academic Freedom.