US appeals court upholds school’s policy to use preferred pronouns

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled last Wednesday that
Montgomery County, Maryland, could require teachers to use students’
preferred pronouns and prohibit teachers from sharing information about
gender identity with parents.
The 2-1 opinion, written by Judge Robert Bruce King, held that the school
board’s policy requiring teachers to use the preferred pronouns of
students and not discuss gender information with parents did not violate
the plaintiff’s First Amendment rights. The plaintiff, Kimberly Ann Polk,
was a substitute teacher in Montgomery County and argued that her
Christian beliefs prohibited her from using a student’s pronouns that are
different from their biological sex. She claimed the board’s policy
violated her right to freedom of religion. The Court of Appeals, however,
found that the school board’s policy was “neutral” and of general
applicability. As such, the board’s goal of preventing discrimination and
protecting student safety was sufficient to overcome any burden on Polk’s
religion.
Plaintiff Polk also asserted the policy violated her free speech rights
by “compelling her, on condition of continued employment, to communicate
misleading messages to parents.” The Court of Appeals similarly disagreed
with this argument by stating that communicating with students and parents
is part of a teacher’s official duties. Because of this, Polk was not
acting as a private speaker when adhering to this policy, but rather a
government employee. The court ruled that, in her capacity as a teacher
and government employee, Polk did not have the First Amendment right not
to follow the policy.
This decision upholds the lower court’s dismissal of Polk’s free speech
and religion claims. Polk also asserted that the school board violated the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 by denying her a religious accommodation to the
policy. This law prohibits employers from failing or refusing “to hire or
to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any
individual” because of their religion. The Fourth Circuit again upheld the
lower court’s denial of an injunction for this because Polk’s alleged
harms that would justify the injunction were the violation of her
constitutional rights. Because the court dismissed her First Amendment
claims, Polk could not argue her rights were violated.
This case comes against the backdrop of a divided judiciary on
transgender issues. A federal judge in California found last month that
schools cannot bar teachers from telling parents their children are
transgender. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked
this ruling.
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Source: https://www.jurist.org/news/2026/02/us-appeals-court-upholds-schools-policy-to-use-preferred-pronouns/