Ex-Jurupa teacher’s lawsuit alleges she was fired for ‘Christian beliefs’

Former Jurupa Valley High School instructor Jessica Tapia is suing the Jurupa Unified School District, declaring the district violated her Christian beliefs when it fired her for declining to follow gender-affirming policies for trainees. Tapia was fired in January, the suit states.

" People of faith need to be permitted to maintain their personal beliefs without fear of losing their job," Mariah Gondeiro, vice president and legal counsel for Advocates for Faith & & Freedom, the Murrieta law office managing Tapia's case, stated in a news release.

Tapia "was not dismissed for any misdeed, rather, she was dismissed for her Christian beliefs," Gondeiro said." ... We need more teachers like her who understand the truth that parents are partners and the final arbiters of their children, not obstacles to work around.".

Tapia, who has appeared on Fox News among other media outlets, stated in the news release: "My story is not just my own. It is the story of every teacher of ethical and faith. It is the story of every parent whose very first priority is protecting their children.".

The district has not been served with the claim and "will prevent any lawsuit filed," district spokesperson Jacqueline Paul said by means of email.

Paul likewise described a district declaration issued in March.

" The Jurupa Unified School District is committed to supplying all students and personnel with a discrimination and harassment-free knowing environment and respects the religions of its trainees and personnel," the statement read.

" The District's actions are constantly rooted in state and federal law( s)" that assurance students a discrimination-free environment and "the right to utilize centers consistent with their gender identity, despite the gender listed on their records," the declaration read, including that the U.S. Constitution secures trainees' and staffs' right to personal privacy.

According to the 31-page claim, Tapia attended Jurupa Valley High School and had been a district staff member in numerous capacities because 2014 before ending up being the high school's only female physical education instructor in 2021.

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Tapia thinks God "developed two sexes: female and male" and while she believes "all students, no matter sexual orientation, race, or gender, must be treated with respect, compassion, and love ... her faith prevents her from backing policies that cause her to reject her faith, such as assisting in a trainee's gender shift or withholding info about it from the student's moms and dads," the suit read.

Performance evaluates consistently offered Tapia high marks, and while she shared Bible verses and "her religious beliefs regarding cultural issues" on her individual social networks, she never determined herself as a district worker, nor did she share her beliefs in class, according to the claim.

Issues started with 2 days left in the 2021-22 school year, when Tapia was placed on paid administrative leave after "some problems had actually been brought to the District's attention regarding her personal social media posts," the lawsuit states.

Last July, the district "sent Ms. Tapia various, unproven claims," implicating her of writing bigoted social media posts, "proselytizing during P.E. class" and not describing trainees by their chosen pronouns despite the fact that no trainee asked her to, the suit alleged.

To keep her job, the district purchased Tapia to withhold trainees' transgender identities from parents, describe trainees by their preferred gender pronouns to refrain from sharing her faith and viewpoints on social media and going over religious beliefs with students, the lawsuit states.

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These orders "caused Ms. Tapia to suffer serious psychological and emotional anguish since she was torn in between accepting conditions that triggered her to breach her religions or losing the task she worked her entire life for," the lawsuit added.

The district declined to accommodate Tapia's religious beliefs prior to firing her, according to the suit, which looks for undefined damages.

Tapia spoke at a March press conference outside Jurupa Valley High School in which Inland Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli announced his sponsorship of AB 1314, an expense that would require California schools to inform parents if their child recognizes as transgender.

If their kid comes out as transgender, lgbtq advocates said the expense endangers students whose parents might respond violently. AB 1314 stopped working to get a hearing in the Assembly's Education Committee in April.