Aug 30, 2026 · 11 min
Ninth Circuit ruling tests teachers’ speech rights
Fired Over Johnny The Walrus?
The case could determine whether schools may treat teachers’ visible office displays as government speech and selectively restrict their viewpoints.
- 1Rod Tice lost his Oregon education job after displaying children’s books, including Johnny the Walrus, in his office.
- 2The Ninth Circuit majority treated the visible displays as government speech, while ADF argues that conflicts with Kennedy v. Bremerton.
- 3The case’s next appeals could shape how schools enforce speech policies and protect teachers’ First Amendment rights.
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Langhofer explains how the Ninth Circuit’s two-to-one ruling classified Tice’s visible book display as government speech.
The brief
Rod Tice, an Oregon education specialist and clinical social worker, faced discipline and ultimately lost his job after displaying children’s books in his office.
Tyson Langhofer says the district labeled Tice’s display a bias incident while allowing other employees to show political, ideological, and potentially age-inappropriate materials.
The Ninth Circuit ruled two to one that the visible books constituted government speech, a decision Langhofer says conflicts with the Supreme Court’s Kennedy v. Bremerton ruling.
The dispute now reaches beyond three books: possible appeals could decide whether schools may selectively suppress teachers’ viewpoints and whether Tice gets his job back.
Featuring
Tyson Langhofer
Johnny the Walrus
Oregon
Matt WalshBooks & mentions
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