Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Kimberly Ann Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 25-1136 · judgment January 28, 2026
(petition-stage, structural)
About 2.9× the 4.1% base rate. The model weights this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a petition citing more than ten dissents, and a dissent in the court below.
Questions presented
After Petitioner Kimberly Polk completed her first year of substitute teaching for Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools (“MCPS”), Respondents required her to confirm that she would comply with MCPS’s Guidelines for Student Gender Identity. But Polk’s deeply held Christian beliefs prevented her from complying with the Guidelines’ requirements
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compelling her to use “preferred” pronouns inconsistent with a student’s biological sex, and (2) prohibiting her from telling parents that the school was helping their children transition genders. So she declined to confirm her compliance with the policy, MCPS denied Polk’s requested accommodation, and she was unable to continue teaching. A divided Fourth Circuit held that Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), and Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006), excused the acknowledged burden on Polk’s free exercise of religion and speech. Judge Wilkinson “vigorously” dissented. This dispute presents two questions for the Court’s review:
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When public schools try to force teachers, over their religious objections, to use pronouns inconsistent with a student’s biological sex and to hide from parents information about their child’s gender expression at school, does Smith apply and foreclose heightened scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause?
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Do public schools violate the Free Speech Clause when they compel objecting teachers to adhere to such a school policy?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Frederick W. Claybrook Jr.
Claybrook, LLC
For respondent
Alan Evan Schoenfeld
Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr, LLP
Case
Subject area
First Amendment (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Amicus briefs
17 cert-stage
Linked docket
25A949
Proceedings
- Oct 14 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/6/2026.
- Oct 13 2026Reply of petitioner Kimberly Polk filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 29 2026Brief of respondents Montgomery County Public Schools, et al. in opposition filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amicus curiae of Coalition for Jewish Values filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amici curiae of West Virginia, et al. filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amicus curiae of Robertson Center for Constitutional Law filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Liberty Justice Center’s Parents Initiative filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amici curiae of Elizabeth Mirabelli, et al. filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amici curiae of Christian Educators Association International, et al. filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amicus curiae of Manhattan Institute filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amicus curiae of Center For American Liberty filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amici curiae of First Liberty Institute, et al. filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amici curiae of Our Duty–USA, et al. filed.
- Jul 31 2026Brief amici curiae of Upper Midwest Law Center, et al. filed.
- Jul 30 2026Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Justice Institute filed.
- Jul 30 2026Brief amici curiae of Christian Legal Society, et al. filed.
- Jul 29 2026Brief amici curiae of First Amendment Scholars filed.
- Jul 29 2026Brief amicus curiae of America First Legal Foundation filed.
- Jul 23 2026Brief amicus curiae of NC Values Institute filed.
- Jul 17 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including September 29, 2026.
- Jul 13 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from July 31, 2026 to September 29, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jun 26 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 31, 2026)
- May 21 2026Application (25A949) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until June 27, 2026.
- May 20 2026Application (25A949) to extend further the time from May 28, 2026 to June 27, 2026, submitted to The Chief Justice.
- Feb 26 2026Application (25A949) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until May 28, 2026.
- Feb 23 2026Application (25A949) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from April 28, 2026 to May 28, 2026, submitted to The Chief Justice.