Theis v. InterMountain Education Service District Board of Directors, now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, raises a constitutional question: may a government employer permit ideological expression it favors while suppressing expression it disfavors?
The case involves Rod Theis, a licensed clinical social worker employed by a public school district. Like many employees, Theis decorated his office with personal items, including the covers of three children’s books—He Is He, She Is She, and Johnny the Walrus—displayed behind his desk. The district generally allows employees to display books, artwork, quotations, and even materials conveying political or social messages, including advocacy related to unions, Black Lives Matter, and LGBTQ+ issues.
After a complaint characterized the display as “transphobic” and promoting a “binary view of gender,” the district ordered Theis to remove the books when students were present, labeling the display a “hostile expression of animus” and warning that further conduct could result in disciplinary action. A lower court upheld that restriction, prompting the appeal.
The issue is not about the books themselves, but whether the district’s restriction amounts to viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The Ninth Circuit’s decision will help define how far public employers may go in regulating employees’ rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and due process.
We will continue to provide updates as this case proceeds.