9th Circuit upholds La Grande school firing in gender identity case

A federal appeals court has upheld the firing of a La Grande Middle School staffer who refused to affirm students’ gender identity, giving InterMountain Education Service District legal backing to enforce its expectations for employees working with children in Union County. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found no free speech violation in the termination of Roderick E. Theis II, a licensed clinical social worker who served as an Education Specialist and kept offices at the school.

The published opinion, filed July 21, came in appeals Nos. 25-5641 and 25-8039 from the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon before Magistrate Judge Andrew D. Hallman. The named defendants-appellees were the InterMountain Education Service District - Board of Directors, Superintendent Mark S. Mulvihill and Assistant Superintendent and Director of Human Resources Aimee Vannice, all sued in their official capacities.

For educators, counselors and other district employees in La Grande, the ruling sharpens the line between personal belief and workplace duty. Oregon law protects people from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, and the state’s school code includes a statewide education plan for students who are minority gender identity or sexual orientation under ORS 329.847. In that setting, district officials can require staff to follow policies that protect students, even when an employee says the rules conflict with personal views.

The dispute reached the court after Theis sued InterMountain Education Service District and school officials, alleging free speech and equal-protection violations. The East Oregonian reported on Aug. 12, 2025, that the employee was suing his employer. The legal fight turned on whether statements made in the workplace were protected speech or employee conduct that the district could discipline.

The ruling also fits into a longer Oregon legal history. In February 2020, the 9th Circuit dismissed Parents for Privacy v. Barr, leaving in place policies that protected transgender students in Oregon public schools. Advocacy groups including the ACLU of Oregon and Basic Rights Oregon backed those protections, while Alliance Defending Freedom praised the new ruling as recognizing Oregon educators’ freedom to express concerns about gender policy. For Union County schools, the decision strengthens the authority of administrators and human resources staff to set and enforce student-support rules that put welfare and anti-discrimination policy ahead of an employee’s refusal to comply.