An appeals court on November 6 ruled against an Ohio school district requiring students to use the preferred pronouns of trans-identified students and staff.
The ruling comes after parental rights advocacy group Defending Education filed a lawsuit against the Olentangy Local School District, challenging the rule. In this ruling, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the lawsuit to go forward and issued a preliminary injunction barring the district from punishing students who do not use preferred pronouns.
The policy mandated that students must use the chosen pronouns of students who identify as transgender or nonbinary. Students who refused to comply with the policy could face punishment, including “no-contact” orders and even suspension or expulsion, according to Defending Education.
The organization argued that having to use preferred pronouns would force students to “convey a falsehood—that a person’s gender is fluid.” This violated their First Amendment rights by compelling them to support ideas with which they disagree.
The court concurred, noting that “A school district may not restrict personal speech on matters of public concern unless the speech would ‘materially and substantially disrupt’ school activities or infringe the legal ‘rights of others’ in the school community.”
The school district failed to show evidence justifying its policy, according to the ruling. The judges acknowledged that there are instances in which schools have the authority to restrict students’ speech to prevent disruptions. However, the district “has fallen far short of meeting this demanding standard” because “it introduced no evidence that the use of biological pronouns would disrupt school functions or qualify as harassment under Ohio law.”
The ruling reverses a lower court’s decision in favor of the district. The appeals court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the district from enforcing the policy against students who use the correct pronouns. It noted that Defending Education “is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the District may not punish students solely for the use of biological pronouns at school.”
A federal circuit court has struck down an Ohio school district policy forcing students to use classmates’ preferred pronouns, echoing arguments in FIRE’s friend-of-the-court brief.
— FIRE (@TheFIREorg) November 12, 2025
Free speech protects both the right to speak and the right to remain silent, even for students. pic.twitter.com/ZaEjPa2uGk
This issue has been raging for years. It began when parents realized that progressives were using government-run schools to infuse far-leftist ideology into the classroom. Several school districts across the country imposed rules that not only punish students for refusing to adhere to leftist gender ideology, but require teachers and staff to encourage transgenderism without the knowledge and consent of parents.
These revelations kicked off raucous protests at school board and city council meetings where parents expressed their opposition to these policies. A flood of lawsuits followed, with groups like Defending Education and others going through the court system to prevent schools from imposing this ideology on their children.
Fortunately, the tide has been turning — albeit gradually — as common sense tries to fight its way back into the education system. This ruling could be a critical victory for parental rights and for those who wish to protect children from the ongoing indoctrination efforts taking place in government-run schools.
