This Week in the Circuits: Fourth Circuit Weighs First Amendment Claims Over School Pronoun Policy

Welcome to This Week in the Circuits, a look at the most significant cases before federal appeals courts.

A substitute teacher who lost her job after refusing to use transgender students’ pronouns will urge the Fourth Circuit on Thursday to reinstate her First Amendment claims against Maryland’s largest school district.

The case brings the clash between some workers’ religious beliefs and school policies aimed at supporting transgender students to another federal appeals court. A ruling for the Christian teacher would revive her free speech and free exercise claims, letting her pursue them alongside a religious accommodation claim that the district ...