COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A national conservative organization is suing Olentangy Local School District for anti-harassment policies protecting LGBTQ+ students.
Parents Defending Education is arguing the district is violating free speech rights by barring students from misgendering, the act of referring to another person by using pronouns that do not align with their gender identity. Thursday’s filing in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Ohio also claims students are compelled to “mouth support” for Olentangy’s viewpoints.
“[The district prohibits] purposefully referring to another student by using gendered language they know is contrary to the other student’s identity,” the suit states. “The district’s policies unconstitutionally forbid speech the district dislikes and compel speech it favors.”
A spokesperson for Olentangy schools told NBC4 the district has not yet been served the suit and is unable to comment.
The organization also claims Olentangy’s student code of conduct that includes “transgender identity” as a protected group is unconstitutional. Further, PDE is against district policies that allegedly prohibit students from harassing or humiliating LGBTQ+ students on and off campus, and through their cell phones.
“The district’s policies require the students to conform their speech to the district’s views on gender identity,” the organization argues. “If students voice their closely held views that sex is immutable or refer to peers with their ‘unpreferred pronouns,’ they would violate the district’s broadly written policies.”
The suit is requesting the federal court to declare Olentangy’s policies a violation of the first and fourteenth amendments, and to impose an injunction prohibiting the district from enforcing anti-harassment policies for trans students.
PDE’s complaint comes as The Trevor Project, the world’s leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, found 41% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. A majority reported being verbally harassed at school because other students assumed they were part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Read the full complaint below.
