Earlier today, we told you about Defending Education filing a Title IX Civil Rights complaint against Princeton University and its transgender policies, and now Defending Education has another victory for parental rights, free speech, and education under its belt.
In 2023, Defending Education filed a suit against the district. At the time, Defending Education (then known as Parents Defending Education) wrote:
Parents Defending Education (PDE), a national nonprofit membership association that empowers concerned citizens to become more engaged in America’s education system, filed a lawsuit today against Olentangy Local School District (OLSD). Parents Defending Education v. Olentangy Local School District Board of Education, et al. was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleging that District policies violate students’ First Amendment rights by chilling students’ speech rights, compelling students to affirm beliefs about sex and gender that are contrary to their own deeply held beliefs, and violating parents’ Fourteenth Amendment rights through the district’s efforts to restrict speech off school grounds and in families’ homes.
OLSD’s policies and Student Code of Conduct include “transgender identity” as a protected group, requiring students to use other students’ “preferred” pronouns — which the District can enforce through wide-ranging forms of formal punishment (such as suspension and expulsion).
The District’s other actions send a clear message to students that only one view about gender identity is acceptable: it has pushed parents out of critical gender-identity decisions of their children through its use of “Gender Identity Support Plans” for students whose biological gender does not align with their gender identity, which the District uses without the consent of their parents. OLSD has also issued “Transgender Guidelines” that instruct teachers and other District officials to hide the student’s gender identity and “preferred pronouns” from the student’s parents, unless the minor student gives permission otherwise.
Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Defending Education in its lawsuit against the Olentangy Local School District (OLSD) in Ohio, regarding the district's "anti-harassment" policies.
Here's more from the Columbus Dispatch:
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a central Ohio school district cannot punish students who identify transgender students by their 'biological pronouns,' citing concerns over free speech and discrimination over certain viewpoints.
In a 10-7 decision issued Nov. 6, the court's majority ruled that Olentangy Local Schools did not demonstrate that the use of the pronouns to refer to transgender and nonbinary students would "materially and substantially disrupt school activities or infringe on the legal rights of others in the school community."
The 6th Circuit issued a preliminary injunction that bars the district from "punishing students for the commonplace use of biological pronouns" when referring to transgender students. The decision also noted, however, that the order does not stop the school district from enforcing its other anti-harassment policies that protect transgender students.
The opinion reverses earlier decisions by a federal judge and a three-judge panel of the appeals court, which had ruled for the district.
In the 10-7 ruling, Judge Murphy wrote, "The Supreme Court’s cases provide a clear answer. A school district may not restrict personal speech on matters of public concern unless the speech would 'materially and substantially disrupt' school activities or infringe the legal 'rights of others' in the school community."
Defending Education called the ruling a "major victory."
"We are deeply gratified by the Sixth Circuit’s intensive analysis not only of our case but the state of student First Amendment rights in modern era. The court’s decision – and its many concurrences – articulate the importance of free speech, the limits and perils of public schools claiming to act in loco parentis, and the critical role of persuasion – rather than coercion – in America’s public square," wrote Nicole Neily, Founder and President of Defending Education in a statement.
Sarah Parshall Perry, Vice President and Legal Fellow at Defending Education, also hailed the ruling, writing, "Despite its ham fisted attempt to moot the case, Olentangy School District was sternly reminded by the 6th circuit en banc court that it cannot force students to express a viewpoint on gender identity with which they disagree, nor extend its reach beyond the schoolhouse threshold into matters better suited to an exercise of parental authority. A resounding victory for student speech and parental rights was long overdue for families in the school district and we are thrilled the court’s ruling will benefit others seeking to vindicate their rights in the classroom and beyond."
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