The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has ruled against a school district policy in Ohio that required students to use preferred pronouns, supporting the argument that such policies infringe on students’ free speech rights. The decision came after a group of parents challenged the school district’s rules.
Attorney General Alan Wilson of South Carolina announced the court’s decision and noted his role in co-leading a 23-state friend-of-the-court brief submitted to the court. The brief argued that compelling students to use certain pronouns forces them to express views they may not agree with.
“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1969 that teachers and students don’t ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,’ and yet this district in Ohio is trying to force all students to say things that many of them may not believe in,” Attorney General Wilson said. “I applaud this Court for upholding free speech rights.”
The multi-state brief contended that beliefs about gender identity vary, with some people viewing preferred pronoun usage as an expression of personal belief, while others see it as contrary to their own values. The attorneys general argued, “the First Amendment forbids school officials from coercing students to express messages inconsistent with the students’ values.”
South Carolina and Ohio led the coalition, which included attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
