Maryland school district didn't violate teacher's rights by requiring chosen pronoun use, appeals court rules

Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland did not violate a substitute teacher’s First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and religion by requiring her to use transgender students’ chosen pronouns, a federal appeals court has ruled.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a ruling by the federal district court for Maryland, which dismissed most of teacher Kimberly Ann Polk’s claims and denied her request for a preliminary injunction that would require the school district to assign her only to classes with no transitioning students while her case went through the courts. The appeals court’s decision, issued Wednesday, saw one judge dissent.

The Fourth Circuit includes Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia as well as Maryland, so it can be applied in those states too.

Related: Transgender and nonbinary youth whose pronouns are respected attempt suicide less: report

Polk, a conservative Christian, accepted a substitute teaching position in the Montgomery County schools in 2021, the appeals court’s opinion notes. She subbed 10 times in eight different schools in the 2021-2022 school year “in roles that involved preschool, special education, kindergarten, and second through fourth grade classes,” according to the opinion. She received positive performance reviews and was eligible to continue as a substitute teacher in 2022-2023 without having to reapply.

But as a condition for her retention, she was required to view an online video stating the district’s guidelines for teachers and sign an agreement that she would adhere to them. The guidelines include using students’ preferred names and pronouns and keeping the information confidential.

Polk refused to sign, citing her “sincerely held religious beliefs,” which are “based on her understanding of her Christian religion and the Holy Bible,” as stated in her original suit, filed in May 2024. The suit said she believes “she would act unethically if she affirmatively assisted children to present as other than their God-given sex,” which “would include lying to children by using pronouns for them that do not match their God-given, biological sex.” The complaint also asserted that “it would be unethical for her to hide from parents that their child is transitioning genders at school.”

The district’s compliance coordinator discussed various accommodations with Polk, such as letting her teach only in elementary and preschool classes or having someone else interact with transitioning students. School administrators ultimately decided not to grant these accommodations, so Polk filed her suit.

In the January 2025 decision, U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman ruled that the guidelines are a “neutral and generally applicable” policy and therefore did not violate Polk’s right to freely exercise her religion. Boardman also dismissed her free speech claim, saying “the speech that Polk challenges is part of her official duties as a teacher,” so it is “unprotected by the First Amendment.” The judge agreed to let a third claim, that the district failed to accommodate her, go through the discovery process, but she filed the appeal instead. Boardman denied the preliminary injunction request on the grounds that Polk had not shown she would suffer irreparable harm otherwise.

The appeals court agreed that the guidelines are neutral and do not show hostility toward any particular religion. “Because Polk herself is a Christian who believes that there are only two sexes does not mean that all Christians believe the same thing, and that non-Christians inherently believe otherwise,” Judge Robert B. King wrote for the majority. “Indeed, there are multiple secular reasons why other persons, regardless of their religious background or creed, could take issue with the Guidelines.”

Related: Appeals court rules transgender Florida teacher cannot use female pronouns in school

He further agreed that her free speech claim should be dismissed because the speech in question was part of her official duties. He added, “We readily decline Polk’s invitation to run the public schools.”

King, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, was joined in his opinion by Judge Stephanie D. Thacker, who was appointed by President Barack Obama. Judge Harvie Wilkinson III, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, dissented.

Wilkinson said Polk was likely to succeed on her free speech claim. Montgomery County schools’ policy “demands that teachers speak a message supportive of transgenderism by requiring the use of students’ preferred pronouns, silence or reasonable alternatives be damned,” he wrote.

“Although transgender-rights advocates may now cheer the majority opinion, they will find today’s cure in truth a poison when states enact legally indistinguishable policies preventing teachers from using preferred pronouns in schools,” he contended. “And because nothing prevents school systems from pushing this newfound control much further than mere pronoun usage, I respectfully dissent.”

King countered that Polk was challenging the guidelines only as they applied to her, not overall, and that she voluntarily became a substitute teacher in Montgomery County, therefore accepting “a substantial degree of control by the democratically-elected Board, including that she adhere to the Guidelines.”

“Simply put, if Polk had wished to express her ‘more socially conservative positions’ … there were other avenues available,” he added.

A Montgomery County schools spokeswoman said the district welcomed the decision but declined to comment further, as there could be additional court action, The Washington Post reports. Rick Claybrook, Polk’s attorney, told the Post he and his client are considering an appeal to the full Fourth Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court.