From Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby (D. Md.) yesterday in El-Haggan v. Bd. of Ed.:
Plaintiffs are public school teachers employed by the [Montgomery County (Md.) Public Schools]. Following the events of October 7, 2023, the Plaintiffs individually expressed their opposition to Israel's response to the terrorist attacks and to the subsequent war in Gaza.
This led to their being transferred to other schools (and, as to two of them, being placed on paid administrative leave). They sued, claiming that, among other things, this constituted unconstitutional retaliation for the exercise of their First Amendment rights. The Court has held that such retaliation violates the First Amendment if
