ACLU of Ohio calls out Dublin school district for restricting student’s pro-trans ‘teach-in’

The ACLU of Ohio sent a letter to the superintendent Dublin City Schools, a Columbus suburb school district, expressing “serious First Amendment concerns” after the school allegedly restricted a student’s freedom of expression multiple times due to her pro-trans viewpoint last May.

According to the Aug. 28 letter, at the end of April, Jerome High School senior Corinne Embi was working on her final student project in her Women’s Studies class about transgender activism. As part of her project, Embi put up flyers around her school advertising a peaceful demonstration and teach-in where students, faculty and staff could come to school in trans Pride colors — pink, white and blue — to learn about recent state legislation targeting trans people and to show show solidarity with the community on May 9.

Initially, Embi received permission from the school administration to post the flyers, the letter states. But at the beginning of May, NBC4i reported that Embi came to school to see her flyers taken down. When she asked why, high school administrators in the Columbus suburb cited school board policy.

The ACLU’s letter said the school “ultimately prohibited any student from presenting their final project to the class.” 

Embi gave her presentation at her local Columbus Public Library branch instead. 

The school district also denied her request to distribute transgender wristbands to Jerome students. 

“Public schools may not restrict student expression merely because they disagree with it or find the message controversial,” said Amy Gilbert, senior staff attorney with ACLU of Ohio, in a release. “It has been well-established that school censorship of political speech and viewpoint discrimination are unconstitutional under the First Amendment.”

Dublin City Schools Superintendent John Marschhausen did not respond to The Buckeye Flame’s request for comment on the letter. But in May, the school district released a statement to NBC4i about the incident.

The statement denied that school administrators stopped Embi from handing out transgender wristbands or from performing the demonstration. The statement also said that the presentation part of the project was removed from the rubric for all students.

“It’s important to clarify that the concerns raised were not about the content of the student’s project, but rather the distribution of promotional materials throughout the school prior to completing the required approval process,” the statement said. “In this case, the promotional flyers were distributed before the necessary steps were completed.”

“Dublin City Schools remains committed to creating a respectful, inclusive learning environment that values student expression, ensures equitable treatment and maintains a safe and focused educational setting for all,” the statement concluded.

The ACLU of Ohio will “continue to monitor for unlawful constraint of student speech” throughout the state, said Celina Coming, a spokesperson for the organization. 🔥

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