While one Oregon school social worker lost an appeal after displaying children’s books in his office affirming biological sex, over a dozen books sit on the very same school district’s children's library shelves that are considered too explicit for even adult prison bookshelves.   

Key Takeaways:

• Social worker Roderick Theis was fired from Oregon's Intermountain Education Service District after displaying books affirming biological sex in his office behind his desk.

• The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, claimed that displaying the books was not speech protected by the First Amendment.

• Two of the books Theis displayed were authored by Ryan and Bethany Bomberger of The Radiance Foundation, and one was authored by commentator Matt Walsh.

• Theis' former school district allows books on the children's library shelves which “feature violence, suicide, explicit language, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol use, and sexual content... labeled for young adults," and which "contain sexually inappropriate material (e.g., masturbation), and had sparked parental complaints, but they all remained on display.” However, these were deemed appropriate, while Theis' displayed books were not.

• In an ironic twist, searches performed in the Education Service District's library shows that books are available to children which contain content so explicit that these same books are banned from prison library shelves.

The Details: 

In a 2-1 decision on July 21, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the appeal of Roderick E. Theis, who was fired from Oregon’s Intermountain Education Service District (IMESD), claiming that Theis’ display of books affirming biological reality behind the desk in his office was “beyond First Amendment coverage.”

Last year, Theis, a social worker of over 15 years, sued after he was terminated by IMESD in eastern Oregon for displaying the children’s books “He is He” and “She is She” (authored by The Radiance Foundation's Ryan and Bethany Bomberger) and “Johnny the Walrus” (authored by Matt Walsh) in his offices.

Court records state that Theis had two office locations — one at La Grande Middle School in La Grande School District and the other within the Elgin School District located in eastern Oregon. 

Writing the opinion, Judge John B. Owens stated that the three children’s books “share the themes that gender is binary and cannot be changed.” After a complaint was filed, IMESD conducted an investigation where the district found the books to be “transphobic” and threatening to an “inclusive environment.”

Live Action News previously reported that the court documents showed IMSED allows publicly displayed books and posters promoting gender ideology and sexuality while simultaneously concluding that staff “are not allowed to express views and opinions on specific subjects” or which do not “support transgender or gender neutral” ideology. 

The recent Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision states that Theis “resumed displaying the books” after the district court’s order permitting the books to be displayed only while students were not present. 

Court documents further state:  

Students entered his office and accessed the books. In at least one instance, Theis discussed the content of the books with students. IMESD initiated a second investigation, concluded that Theis had violated its policies and the terms of the preliminary injunction, and began disciplinary proceedings. 

Writing the dissenting opinion, Judge Lawrence VanDyke wrote, “like the personal views that Theis’s colleagues were permitted to express in their office, Theis’s placement of three children’s books as decorations in his office was his own personal expression, not the government’s.”  

Ryan Bomberger, co-author of the books “He is He” and “She is She,” and co-founder of The Radiance Foundation, responded to the case on Facebook, stating: 

It's insane that someone can be fired for displaying basic biological facts and affirming what is actually taught in that school system's own science classes. Pray for Rod Theis and his family. Pray this gets appealed and this unconstitutional decision gets slapped down. 

The Backstory:  

Last summer, Judge Andrew Hallman of the U.S. District Court of Oregon Magistrate, cited IMESD’s “Every Student Belongs” (ESB) and Bias Incident Complaint Procedure policy in his split decision, stating that IMESD could not terminate Theis, so long as the books were not displayed while students were present.

This was allegedly so the books would not influence “impressionable or captive students.” 

Live Action News explained that the ESB policy prohibits the “display of symbols of hate.” The Bias Incident Complaint Procedure policy defines a ‘bias incident’ as “a person’s hostile expression of animus toward another person, relating to the other person’s perceived race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or national origin…”

After the split decision, Theis appealed, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). ADF alleged that several books inside the school districts where Theis was employed “feature violence, suicide, explicit language, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol use, and sexual content... labeled for young adults," and that there are materials available to children which "contain sexually inappropriate material (e.g., masturbation), and had sparked parental complaints, but they all remained on display.”

But it was the three books Theis displayed, geared towards ages 2-8, that were deemed as “hostile” by IMSED, not the sexually graphic and violent books.  

Live Action News previously reported that court documents revealed Theis holds Christian convictions, including that the Bible teaches “[w]e are all created equally but with different purposes,” and that “[w]e are all designed by God, and [H]e was intentional” when creating human beings.  

Why It Matters: 

Live Action News has covered the overlapping history and continuing relationship between pro-abortion and gender-ideology groups. With easy access to the minds of vulnerable youth, the public school system continues to be utilized as a tool of propaganda. 

Bonnie Wallace, legislative liaison for Recover America, has pushed back against explicit books placed on the shelves of school libraries across Texas and the U.S.

Wallace told Live Action News regarding Theis:

“The irony of this ruling and of this brave man getting fired for having books which tell the truth is unbelievable. When our school libraries are filled with sex with animals, sex with dead bodies, group sex, orgies, and a myriad of other perverted content, it's just hard to believe that Mr. Theis was fired for 3 books which share the simple truth of biology.” 

Live Action News reviewed the electronic catalogs of books found in the elementary and middle schools libraries in IMSED’s Elgin School District (SD) — where court documents stated one of Theis’ offices was located — and confirmed that children have access to a plethora of books promoting the radical deconstruction of gender through gender ideology.

They also have access to over a dozen books that would be prohibited in some adult prisons due to their explicit content.  

While advocating to remove obscene books from public school libraries, Wallace was connected with David Stokely, a former Texas inmate-turned-evangelist.

While Wallace and Stokely were attending a school board meeting in San Antonio, Stokely stated that many of the books they were attempting to remove from children’s bookshelves would not be allowed in prison.

Wallace, working with her state senator and chair of Criminal Justice committee, Pete Flores, requested information from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, confirming a list of books prohibited to inmates due to graphic content involving illicit acts such as bestiality, rape, and incest.

After a quick search on Elgin district’s high school library portal, Wallace identified over a dozen explicit books that are so graphic, these same books are prohibited to adult prison inmates.

“The courts got this case wrong. Protecting the minds of minors should be common sense,” Wallace said. “When you consider that, in Texas, prisoners are prohibited from reading over a dozen books which are currently sitting on library shelves in the Elgin school district, accessible to minors, it's shocking. Schools fight hard to protect this filth, but fire a man for simply portraying an innocent children’s book that celebrates biological truths."

The Bottom Line: 

Commending Theis’ efforts, Wallace says she wishes more would get involved in their local schools board meetings and push back against explicit books rampant in schools across the country. 

“The Bible tells us that 'good will be called evil and evil will be called good; well, here we are… More courageous people — like Mr. Theis, willing to stand up for the truth — are sorely needed.”