For over 17 years Rod Theis has provided evaluation and consultation services to schools in eastern Oregon as an employee of InterMountain Education Service District’s (IMESD) School Psychology & Behavior Services department. IMESD contracts with several rural school districts to provide these services. In his role, Rod helped students with various disabilities who were struggling to be successful in their learning efforts.
In October, 2024 a teacher filed a complaint against Rod, claiming to be offended by some books for children that he had displayed in his office at La Grande Middle School. These books celebrated girls being girls (“She is She”) and boys being boys (“He is He”). The books’ themes oppose the transgender narrative. The school required Rod to remove the books from his office.
Rod’s employer also determined that his display of these books, along with his display of “Johnny the Walrus” in another elementary school office, made him guilty of a Bias Incident and threatened to terminate him if any further incidents occurred. IMESD and the schools in their region allow teachers to decorate their offices and classrooms with a wide variety of political and social themes.
Rod is being represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). In May, 2025 ADF filed a lawsuit for discrimination and violation of Rod’s free speech rights. A district judge ruled that Rod could only display the books in his office during times that he was not providing direct services to students in his office. However, soon after redisplaying the books in his office, another complaint was filed against him.
As a result, the La Grande School District also found Rod guilty of a Bias Incident and refused to allow him to continue to serve their schools, and then IMESD terminated his employment. The school district and Rod’s employer can’t silence a speaker because they disapprove of what he says. ADF is appealing the local decision of the district judge to the 9th Circuit Court, asking that the decision that Rod could not display the books while children were in his office be overruled.
