Court rules against Indiana teacher who resigned rather than call trans students by their chosen names Federal judge finds school district could not accommodate teacher's religious beliefs without disrupting school atmosphere. Brownsburg High School – Photo: Brownsburg Community School Corporation, via Facebook. A federal judge in Indianapolis has ruled against a former teacher who claims he was forced to resign due to his discomfort with calling transgender students by their chosen names. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson, of the Southern District of Indiana, rejected arguments made by lawyers for John Kluge, a 30-year-old former orchestra teacher at Brownsburg High School, that he was discriminated against when the Brownsburg Community School Corporation failed to accommodate his religious beliefs, and retaliated against him when he objected to a policy instructing teachers to address students by their preferred names and gender pronouns.