Policy on trans students’ pronouns didn’t violate teacher’s rights, court says
Montgomery County Public Schools did not violate the First Amendment rights of a Christian substitute teacher by requiring her to use transgender students’ pronouns in the classroom, according to a ruling by a federal appeals court.
In a 2-1 decision released Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling that dismissed a majority of the teacher’s claims that the Maryland school system’s policy violated her free speech and religious rights under the Constitution, and rejected her request for an injunction that could have upended the school board’s policy.
The decision could affect other cases in which teachers argue that their First Amendment rights preclude policies that accommodate transgender students’ pronouns. The 4th Circuit’s rulings can be applied across Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia.
Writing for the majority, Judge Robert B. King said the teacher had not convinced the court that a school board policy instructing educators to use transgender students’ pronouns was hostile toward religious views. King also wrote that the teacher’s free speech protections were not violated because following the policy was a part of her official duties as a public school teacher.
“How a teacher addresses a particular student in a particular classroom—and whether a teacher communicates with a student’s parent—is merely a part of that teacher’s job description,” King wrote.
The opinion comes as the Trump administration has threatened to penalize school systems for allowing transgender students to use restrooms that match their gender identity and amid larger debates over whether educators should have conversations in the classroom about gender and sexuality. A federal judge previously ruled that Title IX—a federal law barring gender discrimination in schools—does not apply to gender identity. Broadly, school is one of the most stressful environments for transgender students, according to a 2022 Washington Post poll. Transgender and nonbinary students have reported harassment from teachers and their peers.
The 4th Circuit’s decision focused on a lawsuit from Kimberly Polk, who in 2021 started working as a substitute teacher in the Montgomery County district, Maryland’s largest. Polk had planned to continue teaching in the district but objected to a school board policy that requires instructors to refer to students by their names and pronouns.
In November 2022, Polk submitted a request for a religious accommodation, claiming that the policy went against her “sincerely held religious beliefs,” which are “based on her understanding of her Christian religion and the Holy Bible.”
According to Wednesday’s opinion, a compliance coordinator from the Montgomery school system contacted Polk by phone and proposed some accommodations, including allowing her to teach in preschool and elementary school, but not in middle or high school.
But about a month later, the compliance coordinator told her the requested accommodation would be denied, Polk said. She stopped substitute teaching.
Polk filed her lawsuit in 2024 and claimed that the school system’s decision violated her First Amendment rights of free speech and free exercise of religion. She also claimed the school system violated her civil rights by refusing to provide any religious accommodation.
Polk requested that a federal judge issue a preliminary injunction that would require the Montgomery district to temporarily allow her to teach only in elementary schools with no transgender students while the case played out.
The lower court denied the injunction and dismissed most of Polk’s claims, stating that when she was hired by the school board, the board paid her to speak on its behalf as her employer. The court did allow her claim of a statutory civil rights violation to proceed to legal discovery. But Polk instead appealed the ruling by U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman in Maryland. The appellate panel heard arguments in October.
In the majority ruling, the appeals court said that “no one forced Polk to become a substitute teacher in Montgomery County” and added that by accepting her position, she agreed to follow policies set by the school board.
“Be it choosing curriculum or placing administrative requirements on how teachers deliver that curriculum, those decisions are entrusted to the board, not to judges,” King wrote. “And it is the board—not individual teachers—which is democratically responsive. If, as Polk says, teachers and parents disagree with the Guidelines, then democratic means exist to address their concerns.”
In a dissent, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote that the school system’s policy forced educators’ speech and curtailed individuals from voicing any opposing viewpoints regarding transgender rights—which he believed is a “dangerous precipice.”
“By all means, voice objections to Ms. Polk’s point of view. Say she is insensitive to issues of transgender identity,” Wilkinson wrote. “But do not indulge affronts to speakers’ dignity simply because they, like Ms. Polk, stand in the minority.”
King was joined in his opinion by Judge Stephanie D. Thacker; they were appointed by Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, respectively. Wilkinson was nominated by President Ronald Reagan.
Polk’s attorney, Rick Claybrook, said Friday that they are considering requesting that the Supreme Court or the full 4th Circuit review the decision.
Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman Liliana López said in a statement that the school system welcomes the court’s decision but declined to comment further because there could be additional litigation.
Salvador Rizzo contributed to this report.
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