An Oregon school counselor was dismissed after displaying books conveying binary gender views, and a federal appeals court ruled this display is not protected by the First Amendment. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a 2-1 decision this week, affirming the termination of Roderick E. Theis II from the InterMountain Education Service District (IMESD), as per court records.

Theis, who served more than 15 years in the IMESD, had displayed books titled “He is He” and “She is She” across several campuses, intending these for middle school student meetings. He included “Johnny the Walrus,” authored by conservative commenter Matt Walsh, which offers a perspective on transgender matters, according to court documents.

Upon investigation, Theis communicated with administrators that his intentions weren’t harmful and had contemplated removing the books during office visits by students identifying as transgender. Nevertheless, IMESD identified his actions as a “bias incident,” demanding the removal of the books or facing job termination.

Although a federal judge temporarily allowed Theis to keep the books in his offices when devoid of students, his job concluded following revelations that he shared these books with students willing to see them. His legal team contended that Theis should remain protected under these circumstances outside of formal sessions; nonetheless, a lower court dismissed this argument, advising against book displays during student presence.

The appeals court maintained the original verdict, delineating that educators’ communications are construed as government speech while engaging with students. “In the course of his responsibilities, Theis’s speech occurs and thus remains outside First Amendment protection,” explained Circuit Judge John B. Owens in the main ruling.

Conversely, the dissenting view from Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke debated that such books were mere personal adornments within the office. Judge VanDyke questioned whether a policy enabling certain political messages while denying others aligns fairly within educational contexts.

Efforts to obtain statements from Theis’s legal representation and IMESD were made by Fox News Digital.