In Parents Defending Education v. Olentangy Local School District, (6th Cir., Nov. 1, 2024), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc vacated a decision issued in July by a 3-judge panel (see prior posting) and granted a rehearing en banc in a free speech challenge to a school district's anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies. At issue are policies that prohibit students from using pronouns that are inconsistent with another student’s gender identity if the use amounts to harassment. In a 2-1 decision in July, the panel rejected the challenge saying in part that "[T]he District’s position that students may communicate their belief that sex is immutable through means other than the use of nonpreferred pronouns, indicate that the District is not attempting to prohibit any viewpoints."
