LEWIS CENTER, Ohio (WCMH) -- A central Ohio school district can't discipline students who refer to transgender classmates by their "biological pronouns," a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 10-7 decision that Olentangy Local School District's policy against misgendering -- the act of referring to another person by using pronouns that don't align with their identity -- "raises serious free-speech concerns" and discriminates "based on its students' viewpoints." The judges said the district failed to introduce evidence "that the use of biological pronouns would disrupt school functions or qualify as harassment." Watch a previous NBC4 report on the case in the video player above.
"Our society continues to debate whether biological pronouns are appropriate or offensive -- just as it continues to debate many other issues surrounding transgender rights," Thursday's ruling said. "The school district may not skew this debate by forcing one side to change the way it conveys its message or by compelling it to express a different view."
However, the judges noted that "the school district rightly responds that it has a duty to protect all students -- including transgender and nonbinary students -- from bullying and harassment," and said that "nothing we say here forecloses the district from enforcing its anti-harassment policies against the abuse of transgender students just as it enforces those policies against the abuse of all other students."
In a statement to NBC4, Olentangy schools said it "remains committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment that facilitates maximum learning for every student," and that it expects "all students treat one another with dignity and respect."
"Civil discourse, free expression, and the sharing of differing viewpoints are essential parts of the academic experience but so is ensuring that students do not face targeted or repeated behavior that creates a hostile or abusive educational environment," the district said. "We look forward to continuing to participate in the legal process to strike the appropriate balance between protected speech and ensuring protection against bullying and harassment."
A national conservative organization called Parents Defending Education has long argued the district's policies violate the First Amendment rights of religious students who "don't want to be forced to affirm" trans classmates.
"Common sense says that Olentangy's policies aren't helping students by compelling their peers to parrot words they don't really believe," said Cam Norris, the organization's attorney, when the 16-judge court heard arguments in the case in March. "They are harming them by teaching them that different world views should be silenced and banned, not understood and rebutted."
Olentangy schools noted during the March hearing that the policies haven't been used to discipline a student, and argued they're meant to protect all, not just those who are trans, from experiencing harassment. The district argued the policies are part of their duty to foster "a secure environment conducive to learning" and that they do not impede student discussions on their views of identity.
"The only thing they can't do is repeatedly make comments about these issues that are directed to a particular student, including be repeatedly and intentionally misgendering," said Jamie Santos, Olentangy's attorney. "Just because a student should be able to say that the body positivity movement is harmful and encourages obesity, doesn't mean a school has to allow that student to call a classmate fat."
Santos pointed to studies that show misgendering is harmful to trans students. Research from The Trevor Project found 49% of LGBTQ+ youth in the U.S. experienced bullying in the last year, and trans youth that said their school is affirming also reported lower rates of attempting suicide.
Ohio Solicitor General Elliot Gaiser also spoke during the hearing on behalf of 22 U.S. states who support Parents Defending Education, and reiterated concerns Olentangy could use the policies to punish students with opposing viewpoints. Gaiser said the district can't "treat one side of the debate as harassment or silence dissenters by labeling them bullies," and claimed students who use "biological pronouns" for trans classmates do so in the "most respectful way."
Parents Defending Education filed the complaint against the district in May 2023, which was initially rejected by a U.S. district court in August of that year. The group then appealed to the Sixth Circuit where a three-judge panel also rejected the suit in August 2024 and said the organization hadn't convincingly argued that the policies should be blocked, and noted students who don't want to use their classmates' preferred pronouns may refer to them using first names.
Shortly after, Parents Defending Education was joined by the 22 states in asking the Sixth Circuit to rehear the case. The Sixth Circuit then decided in early November 2024 it would revisit the suit with all 16 active judges on the court.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio also weighed in, filing an amicus brief last December that argued "neither the school nor the parent group got things entirely right," and said it agrees that the district cannot categorically ban or punish all instances of a student using a classmate's non-preferred pronouns. However, as a group committed to protecting LGBTQ students, the ACLU said some instances of misgendering are not immune from school discipline when they cause a disruption or create a hostile environment.
View Thursday's full ruling below.
LEWIS CENTER, Ohio (WCMH) -- After passing a bond issue on Election Day, Olentangy Local Schools will soon build two new schools.
The district said these are needed to keep up with increasing enrollment.
Some parents said they are relieved the bond issue passed because their children are already experiencing overcrowding in Olentangy schools.
“This is just in time,” parent Joe Meisner said.
Olentangy’s fifth high school will be built on 139 acres of land the district already owns off of Bunty Station Road and the 18th elementary school will be built nearby Bean Oller Road in Delaware.
The bond issue won’t raise taxes, and it gives the district $235 million to construct the buildings, which will break ground in 2026.
Meisner already has two students in high school at Olentangy Berlin and a third who will start ninth grade right as the new buildings open.
“The school’s built for 1,800; there’s over 2,000 kids there,” Meisner said. “I think when they walk through the hall, I think it's like just a madhouse.”
Parent Lindsay Lee moved to the district a few years ago, mostly because of the schools. She said her young children will benefit from the extra space.
“You can see both in the parking lots or school activities, there's just more children here,” Lee said. “We can definitely see the overcrowding in the schools now, so we could easily forecast that happening in the future. It definitely caused concern for us.”
Olentangy’s enrollment is growing by about 400 students each year. Lee said classroom size has a direct impact on students.
“There are multiple studies out there that show a manageable class size helps influence the quality of education and the attention that the kids get,” Lee said.
Meisner’s children currently attending high school don’t have lockers because of overcrowding.
“There’s only so many classrooms, so many teachers,” Meisner said. “You can put them in trailers, but who wants to volunteer for their kid to be in a trailer outside the school?”
Construction at both sites will begin in 2026. The district said the elementary school should open around 2027 and the high school should be complete around 2028.
Some people said they voted no on the bond because of worries about a future tax increase, but Olentangy Schools maintains it didn’t matter if the issue passed or failed -- an operating levy is still needed in the next few years.
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