A federal judge ruled this week that Little Miami High School history teacher George McIntyre's decision to hang a pro-LGBTQ flag in his classroom is not protected by the First Amendment.
McIntyre sued the school district and Board of Education President David Wallace earlier this year after the Board voted 4-1 to have the LGBTQ poster that reads "Hate Has No Home Here" removed from the classroom. The Board cited Ohio House Bill 8, known as the Parents' Bill of Rights. The bill, which became law in 2025, requires public schools to adopt a policy that notifies parents when instructional material contains "sexuality content."
The lawsuit alleged that Little Miami Schools violated McIntyre's free speech rights by ordering the flag's removal. In a ruling released Monday, the judge said the Constitution "does not entitle teachers to present personal views to captive audiences against the instructions of elected officials." The ruling goes on to say McIntyre was speaking as a public employee, not a private citizen, and the Board is entitled to restrain that speech.
According to court records, Wallace visited McIntyre's classroom and photographed the poster in Sept. 2025. Wallace later contacted Superintendent Regina Morgan requesting that the poster be removed. Morgan sent the request to the principal of Little Miami High School, who, after speaking with McIntyre, did not take action to have the poster taken down. That prompted Wallace to bring the issue before the Board.
In a June 8, 2026 deposition of Wallace for the case, the Board President claimed he had heard complaints from parents about the classroom poster. When questioned further, Wallace could name only one person who brought the issue to his attention: Silas Shelton, a former Blanchester pastor who frequently railed against LGBTQ material in schools at Little Miami Board of Education meetings.
Earlier this year, Shelton pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and menacing by stalking. Police reported he allegedly had inappropriate sexual contact with a teenage girl. This June, Shelton was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Later in the same deposition, Wallace said Shelton may or may not have been the person who notified him about the poster and he "shouldn't throw him under the bus."
In a joint statement, Wallace and Little Miami Board Vice President Mandy Bullock said the court reached the right decision.
"Parents deserve to know what their children are taught and to have a voice in their schools. Today’s ruling is a big win for the families who count on their elected school board to take responsibility for classroom decisions," a portion of the statement reads. "The court held that the teacher put up the display in the course of his official duties and that the display was subject to Board oversight."
WVXU reached out to a spokesperson for McIntyre's legal team, but did not immediately receive a reply.
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