A college biology professor who was fired for teaching that sex is determined by an individual’s chromosomes has been reinstated following a successful lawsuit against the school.
Johnson Varkey, an adjunct professor at St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, Texas, was terminated over a year ago after complaints about his teaching practices surrounding sex and biology. Varkey was fired by the college for his statements during a biological class, where he asserted that human sex is determined by chromosomes X and Y, and reproduction occurs between a male and a female. Despite teaching this for 20 years without incident, Varkey faced termination after complaints alleging discriminatory remarks and religious preaching.
First Liberty, the law firm that represented Varkey since his termination, initially wrote a letter to St. Philip’s College in June to demand that Varkey be reinstated.
“When teaching the human reproductive system, Dr. Varkey also stated that human sex is determined by chromosomes X and Y, and that reproduction must occur between a male and a female to continue the human species,” the law firm stated last June. “In the course of teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology, he made these statements in every class for 20 years, without any incident or complaint.”
Despite this obvious fact, Varkey was terminated after a series of complaints accusing him of “religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric, and misogynistic banter.” In November of 2022, Varkey explained that after he stated in class that sex was determined by X and Y chromosomes, a number of students walked out of his class. He was terminated the following summer.
In its lawsuit, Varkey’s law firm accused the college of religious discrimination under the First Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, emphasizing Varkey’s Christian beliefs and his commitment to teaching accurate concepts in human biology. The lawsuit stated that Varkey believes that he is “obligated as a Christian and as a professor to teach accurate, true concepts that comport with his many years of research and study in the field of human biology.”
Now, the firm has announced that Varkey has been successfully reinstated.
“We are happy that the Alamo Community College District voluntarily reinstated Dr. Varkey,” Associate Counsel for First Liberty Institute, Kayla Toney, said. “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.”
Varkey’s reinstatement is a major win not just for religious freedom, but for truth. Educators across the country should be unapologetically teaching students about the scientific truths of sex and biology. As the left continues its efforts to push radical gender ideology in schools across the countries, more teachers must stand firm in teaching facts and truth over false political narratives.
