Ohio school district's transgender anti-bullying policy upheld by appeals court

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - A divided U.S. appeals court upheld the right of a central Ohio school district to enforce policies against the bullying of transgender students, rejecting an effort by a conservative parents group to block enforcement.

In a 2-1 decision on Monday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Olentangy Local School District, Ohio's fourth-largest with about 23,400 students, did not violate the free speech rights of children by compelling them to speak in a certain way.

The case is one of many around the country addressing the rights of transgender students.

Olentangy sought to bar bullying based on factors such as race, sex, disability and religion, and using personal devices such as cellphones - including off campus - to embarrass, harass, humiliate, intimidate or threaten students.

The district, located near Columbus, also prohibited students from "misgendering" transgender students, such as by failing to address them by their preferred pronouns.

Parents Defending Education, a Virginia-based nonprofit, sought an injunction against the policies.

It said the rules undermined the First Amendment constitutional rights of children who were raised to believe that people cannot transition from one sex to another.

Circuit Judge Jane Stranch, however, wrote for the majority that Olentangy could regulate speech about specific students' identities that was "particularly harmful and likely to disrupt the educational experience."

She also said an injunction would create an "immediate risk of harm" to all students by preventing Olentangy from protecting them from abuse.

Stranch, a judicial appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, was joined by Circuit Judge Stephanie Davis, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden.

Circuit Judge Alice Batchelder, appointed by Republican President George H.W. Bush, dissented. She accused Olentangy of turning students into "captive subjects" by requiring their acceptance of gender transitioning.

"The Constitution prohibits this," she said.

Parents Defending Education and its lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Olentangy and its lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.

Based in Cincinnati, the 6th Circuit is a conservative-leaning court, with 10 of its 16 active judges appointed by Republican presidents.

That raises the prospect the entire court might review Monday's decision, which upheld a July 2023 lower court ruling.

The case is Parents Defending Education v. Olentangy Local School District et al, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-3630.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Howard Goller)