Texas Teacher Fired for Unwed Pregnancy

[jimnyc]

This happened at a Christian school, as a result of a "moral clause" in her contract. I don't feel bad for her. She knew the consequences of her actions and what was expected of her when she came on board. And the school is well within their rights, as the SC has even ruled recently on religious schools and their ability to set forth standards for working with them.

ROCKWALL, Texas — Cathy Samford, a volleyball coach and science teacher, was fired from Heritage Christian Academy for getting pregnant and not being married, the school acknowledged.

"I looked it up and thought, 'They can't do this,'" said Samford, 29.

For almost three years, she coached volleyball at the private school. Samford was named "Coach of the Year" and recently began teaching science.

But when she got pregnant last fall, the school fired her because she was not married.

"We all have different views and interpretations," Samford said. "It's not necessarily the Christian thing to do to throw somebody aside because of those."

"You can't discriminate against someone who's pregnant or has a pregnancy-related medical condition," said Colin Walsh, her attorney. "That is both state and federal law."

But Heritage Christian said this case is not so simple.

"I understand some people that would say 'It's a heartless thing to do,'" said the school's headmaster, Dr. Ron Taylor. "It wasn't easy to do."

Taylor acknowledged that Samford could not get fired for an out-of-wedlock pregnancy in a public school. But HCA is a private, religious campus, and Taylor said the school considers teachers to be ministers, since they're allowed to share their beliefs in the classroom.

"The Supreme Court, as a matter of fact in the last month, has ruled 9-to-0 that a Christian school does have that right, because this is a ministry, so we have the right to have standards of conduct," Taylor added.

Taylor said Samford violated the morals clause in her contract and was not a "Christian role model" to her students.

http://www.kvue.com/news/state/Texas...146973925.html

[logroller]

Sounds to me like she was a good coach, and likely a good teacher; so I'm guessing she'll find work elsewhere. Were my kids in that school, I'd pull them out. My wife and i had a kid out of wedlock, and we're happily married now. Wasn't Jesus conceived by an unwed mother?

[jimnyc]

Sounds to me like she was a good coach, and likely a good teacher; so I'm guessing she'll find work elsewhere. Were my kids in that school, I'd pull them out. My wife and i had a kid out of wedlock, and we're happily married now. Wasn't Jesus conceived by an unwed mother?

Jesus's Mother didn't voluntarily enter into a contract with a morals clause!

I know the history of Jesus.... but we also know that TODAY, the Church is against pre-marital sex, and to employ someone and 'showing' the kids that they approve of this action, goes against their beliefs. In fact, I might even say they would be hypocritical to employ those who had pre-marital sex and children out of wedlock. I don't think this activity makes her a bad person, just someone who doesn't fit the mold of the values they want to espouse at a religious institution.

[MtnBiker]

Parents might also pull their kids out of a private Christian school if teachers were allowed to violate the moral clause in the contract.

[Kathianne]

Parents might also pull their kids out of a private Christian school if teachers were allowed to violate the moral clause in the contract.

This has been a quandary for more than one Christian school I'm aware of. They walk the line between out of wedlock and the choice of the teacher to not abort. In this case, got to wonder if insurance didn't come into play, 3rd trimester? Give me a break! Even with first baby, one is showing at 4 months, 5 at most. She looks thin, so earlier is more likely.

[ConHog]

No sympathy from me. I mean it DOES seem cold to do, but contracts exist for a reason.

[avatar4321]

I dont feel sorry for her. She knew the terms of her contract. She could have made other choices. She made this one. She has to live with the consequences.

[Missileman]

So is it having unmarried sex that's the issue or having a baby without a husband? Not that it's the case here, but what if this young woman got pregnant through artificial means?

And for the record, I think the school is within its rights to terminate, I'm just curious how some of you respond to the scenario above.

[gabosaurus]

Someone sent this to me earlier. I believe the school is totally within its rights to fire the teacher. A lot of religious schools have morality clauses that apply to students and faculty. I believe Brigham Young and some other private colleges have them as well.
Most jobs have clauses that prohibit certain things. I can't have political stickers on my car if I intend to park it on school property. My husband can't discuss company business outside of his workplace unless it is approved in advance.
Our school district has gotten numerous transfers from private schools where kids were expelled for violating rules. Faculty shouldn't expect to play by different rules.

[fj1200]

This happened at a Christian school, as a result of a "moral clause" in her contract. I don't feel bad for her. She knew the consequences of her actions and what was expected of her when she came on board. And the school is well within their rights, as the SC has even ruled recently on religious schools and their ability to set forth standards for working with them.

"The Supreme Court, as a matter of fact in the last month, has ruled 9-to-0 that a Christian school does have that right, because this is a ministry, so we have the right to have standards of conduct," Taylor added.

http://www.kvue.com/news/state/Texas...146973925.html

The SCOTUS decision iirc only related to ordained ministers although I wouldn't be surprised if that were expanded to others. I do think that the school should have the right to enforce their clause as it was, likely, very clear. Clearly, they wouldn't be firing her for being pregnant, which would be illegal, but for violating a clause.

Sounds to me like she was a good coach, and likely a good teacher; so I'm guessing she'll find work elsewhere. Were my kids in that school, I'd pull them out. My wife and i had a kid out of wedlock, and we're happily married now. Wasn't Jesus conceived by an unwed mother?

You probably shouldn't have them their in the first place because the the school, from a contract perspective, has almost no room to make an exception. If they make one here then it opens the door to others making claims of wrongful termination. It would be an HR nightmare.

[Salty]

No question she should be fired. I don't condemn her, she knew what type of organization she was working for.