An Indiana school district has agreed to pay close to $200,000 to resolve a legal dispute with a counselor who was dismissed after speaking out against a student gender identity policy.
Kathy McCord filed a lawsuit against the South Madison Community School Corporation after she was terminated for declining to comply with a policy requiring staff to withhold from parents information about a child identifying as the opposite sex at school.
According to court records filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, both parties reached a settlement agreement and jointly moved to dismiss the case.
Under the terms of the agreement, the district will pay $195,000 in legal fees and related costs. The policy at issue had already been withdrawn following changes in state law, according to reports.
McCord was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal organization known for litigating First Amendment cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Responding to the settlement, ADF Senior Counsel Vincent Wagner said, “No American should be fired for expressing her beliefs, especially not an educator speaking in her personal capacity, on her own time, and out of concern for her students.”
He added, “Kathy knows that kids do best when schools and parents work together. But South Madison left parents in the dark. It’s regrettable that South Madison made Kathy endure three years of litigation to get to this point, but we are pleased with this result for Kathy.”
The dispute traces back to 2021, when McCord and other staff members were directed to implement a “Gender Support Plan” form for students addressing their preferred gender identity and pronouns.
The policy required educators not only to use a student’s chosen name and pronouns but also to withhold that information from parents if the student requested confidentiality.
The confidential plan later became public through a December 2022 Daily Signal article, in which McCord was cited expressing opposition to the policy.
In March 2023, the school board voted to terminate McCord over her public criticism of the plan, and shortly afterward, in May 2023, ADF filed a lawsuit on her behalf challenging the dismissal.
