Dr. Johnson Varkey has been reinstated after he was fired for teaching biological facts about reproduction.
“We are happy that the Alamo Community College District voluntarily reinstated Dr. Varkey,” said the Associate Counsel for First Liberty Institute, Kayla Toney. “He is excited by this outcome, and we are glad that ACCD did the right thing. Dr. Varkey looks forward to continuing to educate students at ACCD.”
In January 2023, Varkey was fired after serving as a biology professor at St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, Texas for 20 years.
The incident occurred after he taught that biological sex is determined by X and Y chromosomes.
According to the college, Varkey participated in “religious preaching” in the classroom, prompting his dismissal.
In June 2023, First Liberty Institute wrote a letter to the Alamo Community College District, which read, “St. Philip’s College violated Title VII when it terminated Dr. Varkey because of his religious beliefs and protected speech. The only reason the College gave for firing him was the student complaint(s) of ‘religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric, and misogynistic banter.'”
“If not for Dr. Varkey’s beliefs about gender, sexuality, and human life, he would not have been fired. Thus, religion was a but-for cause—and a substantial motivating factor—of his termination,” the letter added.
