Federal Court: Iowa School District Cannot Make Children 'Respect A Gender Identity'

Free speech is back, America

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an Iowa school district cannot compel children to “respect a student’s gender identity.”

In a decision filed 29 September, a 2-1 majority ruled that two of the three appellant issues were superceded by legislation, therefore moot.

However, the court ruled that the policy of Linn Mar Community School District requiring students to “respect” each others’ “gender identities” was overbroad.

“The District asserts that ‘respect’ requires only the use of a student’s preferred name and pronouns, and does not prohibit ‘general opinions’ about gender identity,” the court writes.

Absurdly, “The district court concluded that the policy ‘appears’ to be so limited, because the paragraph regarding refusal to ‘respect a student’s gender identity’ is set forth at the end of a section headed ‘Names and Pronouns.’” Emphasis added:

We are not convinced that a student may rest assured that the policy is as narrow as the District asserts in litigation. Eve…