He kept the books after a partial win - then lost his job over them
A school employee decorated his office with contested books. His employer told him to stop - and a US appeals court agreed it could.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 21, 2026, that an Oregon education agency did not violate an employee's free speech rights when it barred him from displaying certain books at work. The court affirmed a lower court's denial of a preliminary injunction.
The employee, an education specialist, had spent more than 15 years in the InterMountain Education Service District. He kept offices where students came for evaluations, and decorated them with personal items - including three children's books.
After a complaint in October 2024, the district investigated and concluded the displays were a "bias incident" under its "Every Student Belongs" policy, which it defined as a "hostile expression of animus" based on a protected characteristic. It ordered him to stop showing the books at work, warning that noncompliance "could result in discipline, including termination."
He sued under a federal civil rights law, arguing the order violated his free speech rights. A trial court split the difference, letting him show the books only when no students were present. After he resumed the displays and, in at least one instance, discussed the books' content with students, the district opened a second investigation and later terminated him.
On appeal, the court did not decide whether...
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