According to court records, John Kluge was hired in 2014 as the music and orchestra teacher for Brownsburg High School about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
Kluge told the school’s principal, Bret Daghe, on the first day of classes for the 2017 school year that he had a religious objection to using transgender students’ names and pronouns.
But at least two transgender students reported that Kluge’s refusal to use their first names singled them out in front of peers and was hurtful.
In January, the district told teachers that everyone would be required to use the names and pronouns listed for students in the database.
“Congress passed Title VII to prevent employers from forcing workers to abandon their beliefs to keep their jobs,” Gray said in a statement.