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A former school counselor with the South Madison Community School Corp. has reached a settlement with the district after she was fired for opposing the corporation’s gender identification policy, according to court documents.
The school corporation will pay plaintiff Kathy McCord $195,000 to settle the case, according to WRTV-TV Channel 6.
Attorneys for the plaintiff did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“SMCSC chose to settle to avoid the significant time, expense, and disruption of continued litigation and to allow the District to remain focused on serving students,” Superintendent Dr. Mark J. Hall told The Indiana Lawyer in a statement attributed to the school district. “SMCSC has not admitted any wrongdoing, and the Court made no findings of liability against the District.”
The case stemmed from the school district’s “gender support plan” policy which was released across the district at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.
The policy required counselors to use gender support plans to document when the school began using different pronouns or names for students and whether the school would notify students’ parents about the change, according to court documents. The policy followed the plans of a psychotherapeutic intervention sometimes called “social transition.”
According to court documents, the policy did not require parental consent or notification to change a student’s name or pronouns.
The policy was allegedly implemented without community input, having not been presented at a school board meeting or posted on the district’s website.
McCord opposed the plan, specifically its requirement that she not seek parental consent. She reasoned that parents’ permission was required for several other actions she and other employees took, including giving a student aspirin and taking students on field trips.
In response to her opposition, her supervisors told her she had to comply or risk losing her job, according to court documents.
Others in the community eventually heard about the policy and tipped off a journalist who began an investigation into the policy. In November 2022, the journalist reached out to McCord for comment. She told the journalist she didn’t agree with the policy as a member of the community, court documents state.
At the following board meeting, community members expressed outrage that the school district implemented the policy without community input. From there, the district allegedly began the termination process for McCord.
Following her termination in March 2023, McCord filed a lawsuit against the district, alleging the district retaliated against her for exercising her First Amendment rights and violated her free exercise of religion.
In August 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted in part the school district’s cross-motion for summary judgment regarding McCord’s First Amendment retaliation claim, compelled speech claim and viewpoint discrimination claim.
Superintendent Dr. Hall said in an emailed statement on behalf of the district that the district feels confident that it would’ve prevailed on the remaining claims of free exercise and Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act had the case gone to trial.
“SMCSC remains focused on its mission of supporting students, staff, and the entire school community,” he said. “The district appreciates the continued support of its families and community members.”
According to WRTV, the school district eventually rescinded the policy after a change in state law.
The case is McCord v. South Madison Community School Corporation, 1:23-cv-00866-RLY-CSW.
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