The plaintiff claimed that she refused to adopt her employer’s views because she viewed them as racist and discriminatory against White people.

• A lower court erred when it held that a White former special education administrator had not properly plead a First Amendment claim alleging that her employer retaliated against her for her refusal to adopt an “equity mindset” at the request of her co-workers, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Wednesday.
• The plaintiff in Spengler v. CESA 7 trained and supported special education directors in Wisconsin school districts. She alleged that she was demoted for refusing the equity mindset requirement, which she viewed as racist and discriminatory against White people. She alleged violations of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as well as the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
• A district court held for the employer on all counts, ruling that the plaintiff was fired because of her objections to the employer’s opinion or ideology rather than her race. It added that these objections were not constitutionally protected because she was never forced to say anything against her will. The 7th Circuit reversed solely on the First Amendment claims as to the employee’s beliefs and remanded for further proceedings.

The First Amendment protects a public employee from discharge based on their beliefs, including any attempt to force such an employee conform their beliefs to “state-selected orthodoxy,” the 7th Circuit said, citing its...

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