Ninth Circuit Revives 1st Amendment Claims Against UW Over Syllabus Parody

1 articles · Updated · Bloomberg Law · May 18

A Ninth Circuit panel reversed summary judgment for the University of Washington, reviving a professor’s First Amendment retaliation and viewpoint-discrimination claims over a parody land acknowledgment in his syllabus.
The court said the professor’s classroom-related speech addressed a matter of public concern and qualified for academic-speech protection, rejecting student discomfort as a valid basis for university discipline.
UW had investigated and reprimanded the gay teaching professor after complaints about the syllabus language, actions the ruling sends back for further proceedings under the revived claims.
The decision reinforces a broader appellate warning that public universities face constitutional limits when policing controversial faculty expression, even when students say the speech is offensive.