WATCH: Texas Teacher Suspended for Being Transgender

A Texas teacher has been suspended after a parent complained about her transgender status.

After substitute-teaching a fifth grade class, Texan Laura Jane Klug was suspended and told not to return after one parent complained that having a transgender teacher in the classroom creates an unhealthy distraction.

Lumberton Independent School District Superintendent John Valastro met with Klug earlier this week, and informed her that she'd been suspended pending a review by he school board to determine her future with the district.

"If it does affect my child and his ability to learn or if it causes questions that I don't feel are appropriate, then undoubtedly there's an issue having somebody transgender, transsexual, or transvestite to be teaching that age group," parent Roger Beard told Lumberton, Texas news station KBMT.

Klug told KBMT that she has substituted at the school in the past without incident.

"I have always conducted myself in a professional manner, and would never discuss my gender identity in school," Klug told the station.

The Lumberton Independent School District board is scheduled to meet Thursday, though it is not expected to publicly announce Klug's fate at the meeting.

Texas does not have employment protections on the basis of gender identity, though Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does protect workers — including transgender or gender-nonconforming employees — against discrimination on the basis of sex. The 2013 Macy v. Holder decision marked the first time a transgender employee won an employment discrimination case using this argument.

Watch KBMT's interview with Klug below.

12 News KBMT and K-JAC. News, Weather and Sports for SE Texas