ACLU of Ohio Sends Letter to Dublin City Schools Regarding its Unlawful Constraint of Student Speech and Expression

Columbus, OH – The ACLU of Ohio sent a letter to the Dublin City School District Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. John Marschhausen regarding their failure to enact and enforce lawful policies governing student expression to ensure school officials respect the constitutional rights of all students. This correspondence follows an incident that occurred during the 2024–2025 school year which raised serious First Amendment concerns.

In the spring, school administrators at Dublin Jerome High School prohibited senior Corinne Embi from carrying out her final project concerning transgender activism as part of her Women’s Studies course due to “school policies”; however, the ACLU argues that the school restricted her speech based on viewpoint. In furtherance of the project, Corinne planned a peaceful show of support where students, faculty, and staff could come to school dressed in pink, white and blue (the colors of the transgender pride flag) to show solidarity with the community following a rise in legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community. The school initially prohibited the planned demonstration and associated teach-in, citing policies about “disorder” and “disruption”. The school also prohibited Corinne from handing out transgender wristbands to students on school property and ultimately prohibited any student from presenting their final project to the class.

Statement from ACLU of Ohio Senior Staff Attorney Amy Gilbert:

“Public schools may not restrict student expression merely because they disagree with it or find the message controversial. It has been well established that school censorship of political speech and viewpoint discrimination are unconstitutional under the First Amendment. In the landmark students’ rights case Tinker v. Des Moines, the United States Supreme Court ruled that students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of expression at the schoolhouse gate. This decision from 1969 still applies in 2025 and represents a long history of the ACLU protecting students’ rights to free speech in public schools.”

The ACLU of Ohio urges the Dublin City School District Board of Education take all necessary steps to ensure their policies and school administrators provide for the full extent of student expression consistent with the U.S. Constitution.