A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday revived religious discrimination claims by the former assistant principal of a Colorado high school who says he was fired for offering “a Christian perspective” on a school play about the murder of a gay college student.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said plaintiff Corey McNellis could proceed with a bias lawsuit against the Douglas County School District because school administrators allegedly cited his “religious comments” about the play as the basis for his 2020 firing.
McNellis in an email exchange with the school’s theater director and other faculty members suggested that as a Christian he disagreed with students staging a production of "The Laramie Project," which depicts the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Wyoming.
The 10th Circuit panel said a Colorado federal judge was wrong to rule that McNellis could not prove his religious bias claims under federal and Colorado laws because he had not alleged that the school district treated him differently than non-Christian coworkers.
The allegation that school officials repeatedly invoked his religious comments as grounds for his suspension and ultimate firing “is sufficient to nudge his claims across the line from conceivable to plausible,” Circuit Judge Veronica Rossman, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, wrote for the court.
Lawyers for McNellis and the school district did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
McNellis had worked at the high school for 14 years and consistently received excellent performance reviews, according to his lawsuit.
During the email exchange with the theater director, McNellis wrote: “As a Christian I would love to collaborate with your project. Please let me know if the love that Jesus can provide will help your play,” and later, “I understand people support this. Forgive me for having a different viewpoint and the audacity to publicly share it.”
McNellis sued the school district in 2022, nearly two years after his firing, alleging religious discrimination, retaliation, and violations of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore in Denver dismissed the case last year. The 10th Circuit agreed with Moore that McNellis had not made out plausible retaliation and free-speech claims, but said his bias claims could go forward.
The panel included Circuit Judges Robert Bacharach, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, and Harris Hartz, who was appointed by Republican former President George W. Bush.
The case is McNellis v. Douglas County School District, 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-1306.