The Center for American Liberty has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools, a case that could determine whether public schools can force teachers to promote contested gender ideology and conceal a child’s social transition from parents.
Kimberly Polk, a Maryland substitute teacher, sought a religious accommodation from a school policy requiring staff to use a student’s preferred name and pronouns at school while using different names and pronouns with parents who were unaware of the student’s social transition. When the district denied her request, she was unable to continue teaching.
The Fourth Circuit ruled that because the speech was part of Polk’s official duties, it was government speech and received little First Amendment protection.
CAL’s amicus brief argues that the government cannot evade the First Amendment by simply declaring compelled ideological speech to be part of an employee’s job. Teachers are hired to educate students—not to serve as government mouthpieces on deeply contested questions of sex and gender.
The brief also argues that this case is about more than compelled speech. The challenged policy allegedly requires teachers to communicate differently with parents than with students, effectively enlisting educators in concealing a child’s social transition from families.
At stake is a fundamental constitutional question: Can the government force public employees to express ideological messages they reject and require teachers to keep parents in the dark?
The Center for American Liberty urges the Supreme Court to hear the case and reaffirm that the First Amendment protects Americans from compelled speech—even in public employment.
Read the Amicus Brief.