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A Pittsburgh-area school district reversed course after receiving backlash for suspending a high school biology and anatomy teacher who reportedly refused to comply with the school's preferred pronoun policy.
Pennsylvania teacher Daren Cusato of the South Side Area School District was suspended last week after he reportedly told school officials that he would not follow a new district mandate requiring teachers address students by their preferred pronouns, because it violated his religious beliefs.
People gather to protest different issues including the board’s handling of a sexual assault that happened in a school bathroom in May, vaccine mandates and critical race theory during a Loudoun County School Board meeting in Ashburn, Virginia, U.S., October 26, 2021. Picture taken October 26, 2021. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
More than 400 people gathering at Wednesday's school board meeting in the small rural county, with most speakers expressing support for the popular teacher, according to Pittsburgh-area news station, WXPI.
"I am standing up here tonight to ask you to separate these two things: the very divisive but trendy topic of pronouns and the precedent that you are setting, which is that teachers need to modify their engagement of students based on how that student feels," one speaker reportedly said.
"My uncle Daren is standing up for what is right, even though he is standing by himself. I am thoroughly embarrassed that South Side School District has taken this arbitrary stance in choosing to align with the one percent," Cusato's niece stated.
Sign protesters made in support of the teacher. [Karen Mallinder Hartman/Facebook]
Students also led protests outside the school after the teacher was suspended, CBS News' Pittsburgh affiliate reported.
At the meeting, the school board not only reinstated the teacher, but suspended the policy, with plans to rewrite it, according to WXPI.
South Side School District Superintendent Alan Fritz did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News. However, he defended the decision to local paper Beaver County Times.
"All students are welcome here. As educators, we have a responsibility to ensure all students feel welcomed and valued in school so that they can receive the education to which they are entitled," the paper quoted him as saying.
A student boards a school bus outside of Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington County which is one of several school districts which sued to stop the mask-optional order by Governor Glenn Youngkin (R), in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
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Pennsylvania State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz celebrated the news, writing on Facebook, "STAND UP even if you stand alone! Teacher reinstated and policy suspended! He should have NEVER been fired. Unreal times we are living in…"
In September a group of parents and teachers in Virginia fought back against Harrisonburg City Public Schools District for their mandatory pronoun policy with a lawsuit, Fox News reported.
Some lawmakers have proposed bills to protect teachers who object to these requirements. Tennessee bill SB 2777 for instance, protects school employees and teachers from being sued or punished for addressing students with pronouns consistent with their biological sex.
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