Federal Court - Requiring Use of Trans Student’s Pronouns Does Not Violate First

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

Federal Court Rules Requiring Use of Trans Student's Pronouns Does Not Violate First Amendment

https://www.them.us/story/story/federal-court-rules-trans-students-pronouns-does-not-violate-first-amendment 🔗

Samantha Riedel (2 Feb 2026)

A Maryland school district can still require staff to use transgender students' personal pronouns, a federal appeals court ruled last week, denying a claim from a Christian substitute teacher who sued the district on First Amendment grounds.

On January 28, a three-member panel of the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a previous district court decision against Kimberly Polk, who first sued Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in 2024. MCPS's guidelines require teachers to use trans students' personal pronouns and to refrain from disclosing a student's trans status to parents without consent, which Polk alleged was a violation of her First Amendment rights to freedom of expression and religion.

Polk claimed in her lawsuit that she applied for, and was promised, a religious exemption from the policy, but that promise was later withdrawn by MCPS's compliance coordinator. She asked the District Court of Maryland to grant her a preliminary injunction allowing her to teach in MCPS elementary schools without trans students, which the district court denied last year.

In its 2-1 decision last week, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the lower court's ruling and denied Polk's motion for an injunction, meaning she will not be able to teach at MCPS schools without abiding by the district's policy. Because MCPS's guidelines apply to all teachers and do not mention religion, the court declared that the policy was not "motivated by religious hostility" and the district did not "target" Christian teachers, as Polk claimed in her lawsuit. Polk also "failed to allege any conduct or statement" that would have shown the MCPS school board was hostile toward religious parents, the majority found, agreeing with the lower court.

[Lori Dee ✅]

If she objects to the district's policies, she should find another place to work. She is not required to remain there.

When I found myself disagreeing with certain policies or regulations, I quit. When the laws became oppressive, I moved. Suing to obtain a special privilege is ridiculous.