A federal appellate court has ruled in favor of two teachers who were fired and later reinstated, after opposing school district guidance that allowed trans-identified students to use locker rooms and restrooms based on their self-declared gender identity rather than their biological sex.
The three-judge panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit delivered the decision on Monday, reversing a district court judgment that dismissed their claims for First Amendment damages following their termination by Grants Pass School District 7.
The teachers, Rachel Sager, an assistant principal, and Katie Medart, a health and science teacher, initiated the “I Resolve” campaign in early 2021 as a response to the district’s “Gender Identity, Transgender, Name, and Pronoun Guidance,” which stated that “the District will not prohibit students from accessing restrooms, locker rooms or other facilities which may be separated by gender, that are associated with the student’s preferred gender identity.”
The campaign aimed to provide “alternative proposals regarding students’ preferred pronouns and names as well as restroom use,” and included a video featuring Sager and Medart uploaded to YouTube.
The teachers consulted with district leadership while launching the campaign, who gave them no indication that they could be violating district policies. The teachers faced complaints from other staff members, who argued that the campaign violated the school district’s prohibition on engaging in political speech using its resources or during working time.
This controversy led to their paid administrative leave and subsequent firing after an investigation concluded they had violated district policies. In fall 2021, the teachers were reinstated to positions at an online district school, which reduced their direct interaction with students.
Sager and Medart filed a lawsuit against the school district alleging violations of their rights under the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, Article I, Section 8 of the Oregon Constitution, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Their complaint named the school district, Superintendent Kirk Kolb, North Middle School Principal Thomas Blanchard, and three district board members as defendants.
The Ninth Circuit panel recognized that the district violated the teachers’ rights under the U.S. Constitution by engaging in content and viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment as well as viewpoint discrimination in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
However, they disagreed that the district infringed on their rights under article I, section 8 of the Oregon Constitution. The court emphasized that “vigilance is necessary to ensure that public employers do not use authority over employees to silence discourse, not because it hampers public functions but simply because superiors disagree with the content of employees’ speech.”
The court also found that the district violated their rights under Title VII by terminating them for their biblically-based views on gender and sexuality. The case has been remanded to the district court for further proceedings.
