LEWIS CENTER, Ohio (WCMH) — A central Ohio school district returned to federal court last week to defend its anti-bullying policies protecting LGBTQ+ students that were challenged by a national conservative organization.

All 16 judges on the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati heard arguments Wednesday in the case challenging Olentangy Local School District’s policies against misgendering, the act of referring to another person by using pronouns that don’t align with their identity. A group called Parents Defending Education has long argued the policies violate the First Amendment rights of religious students who “don’t want to be forced to affirm” transgender classmates.

“Common sense says that Olentangy’s policies aren’t helping students by compelling their peers to parrot words they don’t really believe,” said Cam Norris, the organization’s attorney. “They are harming them by teaching them that different world views should be silenced and banned, not understood and rebutted.”

Olentangy schools noted the policies haven’t been used to discipline a student, and argued they’re meant to protect all, not just those who are trans, from experiencing harassment. The district argued the policies are part of their duty to foster “a secure environment conducive to learning” and that they do not impede student discussions on their views of identity.

“The only thing they can’t do is repeatedly make comments about these issues that are directed to a particular student, including be repeatedly and intentionally misgendering,” said Jamie Santos, Olentangy’s attorney. “Just because a student should be able to say that the body positivity movement is harmful and encourages obesity, doesn’t mean a school has to allow that student to call a classmate fat.”

Still, several members of the 16-judge court were reluctant to agree that the policies are necessary given bullying and harassment are already prohibited by the district’s code of conduct. When Judge Chad Readler asked why Olentangy needed specific pronoun policies, Santos said they allow the district to “proactively make sure something doesn’t rise to the level of a [classroom] disruption.”

Santos pointed to studies that show misgendering is harmful to trans students. Research from The Trevor Project found 49% of LGBTQ+ youth in the U.S. experienced bullying in the last year, and trans youth that said their school is gender-affirming also reported lower rates of attempting suicide.

Ohio Solicitor General Elliot Gaiser spoke on behalf of 22 U.S. states who support Parents Defending Education, and reiterated concerns Olentangy could use the policies to punish students with opposing viewpoints. Gaiser said the district can’t “treat one side of the debate as harassment or silence dissenters by labeling them bullies,” and claimed students who use “biological pronouns” for trans classmates do so in the “most respectful way.”

Parents Defending Education filed the complaint against the district in May 2023, which was initially rejected by a U.S. district court in August of that year. The group then appealed to the Sixth Circuit where a three-judge panel also rejected the suit in August 2024 and said the organization hadn’t convincingly argued that the policies should be blocked, and noted students who don’t want to use their classmates’ preferred pronouns may refer to them using first names.

Shortly after, Parents Defending Education was joined by the 22 states in asking the Sixth Circuit to rehear the case. The Sixth Circuit then decided in early November it would revisit the suit with all 16 active judges on the court.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio also weighed in, filing an amicus brief last December that argued “neither the school nor the parent group got things entirely right,” and said it agrees that the district cannot categorically ban or punish all instances of a student using a classmate’s non-preferred pronouns. However, as a group committed to protecting LGBTQ students, the ACLU said some instances of misgendering are not immune from school discipline when they cause a disruption or create a hostile environment.