On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) declined to hear a challenge from a teacher in Massachusetts who claims she lost her job after she created and reposted “anti-transgender” TikTok videos.
The teacher, Kari MacRae, used to teach at Hanover Public Schools. Reportedly, the TikToks that got her terminated were made before she applied for a job at the district (via The Hill):
One post condemned Rachel Levine, the highest-ranking transgender official in the Biden administration. Another boasted a panda bear photo alongside text that read, “Dude, racism is stupid. I am black, white, and Asian. But everyone loves me.”
“I feel bad for parents nowadays,” another post read. “You have to be able to explain the birds & the bees . . . The bees & the bees . . . The birds & the birds . . . The birds that used to be bees . . . The bees that used to be birds . . . The birds that look like bees . . . Plus bees that look like birds but still got a stinger!!!”
Reportedly, no Supreme Court justice publicly dissented from the decision to turn away her appeal. But, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a seven-page statement claiming that he had concerns about a lower court’s decision to side against the teacher (via The Hill):
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“It undermines core First Amendment values to allow a government employer to adopt an institutional viewpoint on the issues of the day and then, when faced with a dissenting employee, portray this disagreement as evidence of disruption,” Thomas wrote.
“And, the problem is exacerbated in the case of an employee such as MacRae, who expressed her views only outside the workplace and before her employment.”
MacRae was represented by Judicial Watch, who wrote in their petition that the case “could not be a more perfect vehicle for the Court to determine the rights of the tens-of-millions aspiring teachers who are participating in public affairs and the four million public-school teachers who spoke on matters of public concern before they were employed.”
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