WASHINGTON | August 3, 2026 — Public schools cannot force teachers to speak against their religious convictions or force them to keep parents in the dark about significant decisions involving their children. The Liberty Justice Center’s PARENTS Initiative has filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the United States in Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools, urging the Court to protect the First Amendment rights of teachers and the constitutional rights of parents.
The case concerns Montgomery County Public Schools’ policy requiring teachers to use students’ preferred names and pronouns, including pronouns inconsistent with the students’ biological sex and to withhold that information from parents. When substitute teacher Kimberly Polk objected to the policy because it conflicted with her religious faith, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the school district’s policy, concluding that it did not violate her rights to the free exercise of religion or free speech.
The Liberty Justice Center’s brief asks the Supreme Court to review the Fourth Circuit’s decision because it conflicts with the Court’s First Amendment precedents and creates a split among the federal courts of appeals.
The brief argues that the Fourth Circuit improperly treated the school district’s policy as religiously “neutral.” Under Supreme Court precedent, government policies are not neutral when they operate with hostility or intolerance toward religious beliefs. The Fourth Circuit instead required proof that the policy was intended to discriminate on the basis of religion–a standard that puts the onus on the individuals being harmed and allows government officials to burden constitutionally protected religious exercise.
The Liberty Justice Center further argues that public schools cannot use their authority over employees’ speech to compel teachers to participate in policies that violate parents’ constitutional rights. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that parents, not government officials, retain primary authority over the upbringing, education and care of their children.
“Public schools cannot force teachers to choose between their faith and their profession, nor can they require teachers to participate in policies that cut parents out of critical decisions about their own children,” said Timothy R. Snowball, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “We urge the Supreme Court to take this case and reaffirm that the First Amendment protects teachers from compelled speech and religious discrimination, and that parents retain the right to direct the upbringing and care of their children.”
The Liberty Justice Center is also challenging California’s AB 1955, in Chino Valley Unified v. Newsom, which encourages school districts to conceal information about a child’s social transition from parents and restricts school employees from disclosing that information. That case similarly seeks to protect parents’ constitutional right to direct the upbringing and care of their children—and the rights of school employees who object to participating in policies that exclude parents.
The Liberty Justice Center urges the Supreme Court to grant Ms. Polk’s petition for a writ of certiorari and make clear that public schools cannot override the constitutional rights of teachers and parents.
The Liberty Justice Center’s amicus brief in Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools is available here.
More information about the Liberty Justice Center’s work challenging parental-secrecy policies through its PARENTS Initiative is available here.