School district forcing teacher to use preferred pronouns is ‘compelled speech,’ not ‘neutral’ policy: judge

August 29, 2024

A federal judge has ruled that an Ohio school district accused of forcing a teacher to resign for refusing to use trans-identified students’ pronouns, may have violated the teacher’s First Amendment rights.

The Christian Post reports that Judge Pamela Barker of the Northern District of Ohio issued an order earlier this month that denied and granted, in part, motions for summary judgment filed by the school district against middle school English teacher Vivian Geraghty.

Geraghty was asked to resign after expressing concerns about using students’ preferred names and pronouns due to her religious conviction that using names and pronouns contrary to a person’s biological sex would be dishonest.

Geraghty testified that Monica Myers, the district’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, told her that “taking this stand would count as insubordination.” Jackson Memorial Middle School principal Kacy Carter then told Geraghty, “We need a letter of resignation effective today.”

Geraghty filed a lawsuit alleging that the school district had violated her First Amendment rights by engaging in free speech retaliation, compelling her to engage in speech against her will, and infringing on her right to practice her religion freely.

Judge Barker ruled: “Specifically, the Court concludes that Geraghty’s compelled speech was not pursuant to her ordinary job duties and that the District’s name and pronoun practice was not neutral and generally applied. But it withholds deciding whether the Pickering balancing test and strict scrutiny weigh in Plaintiff’s favor or Defendants’ favor until a jury makes factual determinations regarding the alleged interests at stake.”

According to the Christian Post, the litigation will continue as several issues remain unresolved.

Photo: top, Jackson Memorial Middle School, Credit: Screenshot: Google Maps