A Virginia substitute teacher, who was escorted from an assignment after school officials discovered her religious and political views, was reinstated by Montgomery County Public Schools after the Christian legal group Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter.

Lindsay Rich, a 40-year-old mother of five, previously ran for school board in the Montgomery County School Board election. During the 2023 election, she was publicly criticized for endorsing “Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students,” a 2023 set of policies released by the Virginia Department of Education to protect parental rights in dealing with students identifying as something different than their biological sex. The policies were meant to ensure that in athletic programs and activities separated by sex, “participation of students shall be determined by sex rather than gender or gender identity” while establishing that students must “use bathrooms that correspond to his or her sex, except to the extent that federal law otherwise requires.” Rich narrowly lost the race.

Last August, Rich sought a substitute teaching position, and by Sept. 14 had been hired and received a list of teaching assignments. However, Bernard Bragen, a superintendent familiar with Rich’s political standing, contacted Amanda Weidener, director of human resources, when he noticed her employment.

After confirming with Weidener that Rich was the “same person who ran for the school board,” Bragen stated her employment presented “a problem that we may need the attorney to discuss.”

The next day, a school board member and a former school board member investigated Rich’s presence on social media.

According to Liberty Counsel, representing Rich, Rich spent two hours at her first assignment before human resources escorted her from the school. That day, Sept. 17, the board met in a closed session and decided to remove her name from the approved list of substitute teachers due to her views on gender ideology, confirmed by her use of social media. According to Liberty Counsel, Rich became the first substitute teacher the school district terminated for expressing views outside the classroom.

In an interview with The Daily Signal last year, Rich expressed her initial reaction, stating, “I was absolutely shocked when the school board violated its own policy by taking action in closed session to strike my name from the personnel list before coming out in open session to vote.”

On behalf of Rich, Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to the district. The letter, sent on Nov. 17, argued that the First Amendment, Title VII and Virginia law were violated.

The letter reasons that “…as interpreted by the Supreme Court of Virginia, …[the teacher] has the right in her capacity as a citizen to freely speak and write regarding her religious views and political views as they are informed by her faith—and neither she nor any other teacher of [the school district] may be penalized for speech expressed in a private capacity—whether that speech takes place pre-employment, or during employment but in a private capacity.”

The school district responded by restoring Rich’s name on the substitute teachers list.

Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel founder and chairman, celebrated the win in a press release. Staver said that if an employee cannot express their beliefs or religion in their personal lives without fearing retribution, freedom of speech and religion is ultimately lost. 

“The First Amendment guarantees a teacher’s right to speak according to his or her religious beliefs and political values,” Staver stated. “The school district corrected a potentially costly mistake. Teachers have a right to express their conscience and religious beliefs in their private capacity without fear of retribution from their employer.”

Photo: Lindsay Rich for School Board, MCPS VA District E Facebook