Court Opinion

ID: 9363086
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-01-13 18:57:03.398239+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:15:28.408782
License: Public Domain

FOR PUBLICATION

     UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
          FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

ERIC DODGE,                                      No. 21-35400

                Plaintiff-Appellant,           D.C. No. 3:20-
                                                cv-05224-JLR
    v.

EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT                          OPINION
#114, a public corporation;
CAROLINE GARRETT; JANAE
GOMES,

                Defendants-Appellees.

         Appeal from the United States District Court
            for the Western District of Washington
          James L. Robart, District Judge, Presiding

            Argued and Submitted April 15, 2022
                    Seattle, Washington

                   Filed December 29, 2022

    Before: Michael Daly Hawkins and Danielle J. Forrest,
         Circuit Judges, and Jane A. Restani, * Judge.

*
 The Honorable Jane A. Restani, Judge for the United States Court of
International Trade, sitting by designation.
2           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

                    Opinion by Judge Forrest

                          SUMMARY **

                           Civil Rights
    The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the
district court’s summary judgment in favor of defendants in
an action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by a teacher
who alleged retaliation in violation of the First Amendment
when a school principal told him that he could not bring his
Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat with him to
teacher-only trainings on threat of disciplinary action and
when the school board affirmed the denial of plaintiff’s
harassment complaint filed against the principal.
    The panel first concluded that plaintiff was engaged in
speech protected by the First Amendment because the
undisputed facts demonstrated that his MAGA hat conveyed
a message of public concern, and he was acting as a private
citizen in expressing that message.
    Addressing the claims against Principal Caroline Garret,
the panel next held that viewing the facts in the light most
favorable to plaintiff, at a minimum, there were triable issues
of fact regarding whether Principal Garrett, who had
authority over plaintiff’s employment, took adverse
employment action against him when she stated that the next
time plaintiff had his MAGA hat, they would have a meeting
in which he would need his union representative. Because it

**
  This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has
been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114           3

was undisputed that plaintiff’s MAGA hat motivated
Principal Garret’s action, plaintiff submitted sufficient
evidence of a prima facie First Amendment retaliation claim
against her for purposes of summary judgment. The record
failed to establish, however, that defendant Jenae Gomes, the
school district’s Chief Human Resource Officer, took any
adverse employment action against plaintiff, and for this
reason, plaintiff’s First Amendment retaliation claim against
Gomes failed as a matter of law.
    Analyzing whether Principal Garrett had a legitimate
administrative interest in preventing plaintiff’s speech that
outweighed his First Amendment rights, the panel
determined that while some of the training attendees may
have been outraged or offended by plaintiff’s political
expression, no evidence of actual or tangible disruption to
school operations had been presented. That some may not
like the political message being conveyed is par for the
course and cannot itself be a basis for finding disruption of a
kind that outweighs the speaker’s First Amendment
rights.     Therefore,     Principal     Garrett’s     asserted
administrative interest in preventing disruption among staff
did not outweigh plaintiff’s right to free speech. Moreover,
any violation of plaintiff’s First Amendment rights by
Principal Garrett was clearly established where long-
standing precedent held that concern over the reaction to
controversial or disfavored speech itself does not justify
restricting such speech. For these reasons, the panel reversed
the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of
Principal Garrett.
   Addressing plaintiff’s claim against the Evergreen
School District, the panel held that the school board’s
dismissal of plaintiff’s administrative complaint on the
grounds that Principal Garrett did not violate any District
4          DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

“policy or procedure,” was not an approval of her conduct or
the basis for it. Plaintiff failed to establish that a material
dispute of fact existed regarding whether the District ratified
any unconstitutional conduct by Principal Garrett. The
panel therefore affirmed the district court’s grant of
summary judgment in favor of the District.

                         COUNSEL

Gary W. Manca (argued), Talmadge/Fitzpatrick, Seattle,
Washington, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Michael E. McFarland Jr. (argued), Evans Craven & Lackie
P.S., Spokane, Washington; Amber L. Pearce (argued),
Francis S. Floyd, and Brittany C. Ward, Floyd Pflueger &
Ringer P.S., Seattle, Washington; for Defendant-Appellee.

                         OPINION

FORREST, Circuit Judge:

    The question in this case is whether the First Amendment
was violated when a principal told a teacher he could not
bring his Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat with him
to teacher-only trainings on threat of disciplinary action and
when the school board affirmed the denial of the teacher’s
harassment complaint filed against the principal. Plaintiff
Eric Dodge was a long-time teacher in the Evergreen School
District #114 (District) in Vancouver, Washington. Before
the 2019–2020 school year began, he attended two days of
teacher training and brought with him a MAGA hat. His
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114          5

principal, Caroline Garrett, considered the hat inappropriate.
After consulting with the District’s Chief Human Resource
Officer Jenae Gomes, Principal Garrett told Dodge at the end
of the first day that he needed to exercise “better judgment.”
When Principal Garrett learned that Dodge brought his hat
with him again the second day, she called him a racist and a
homophobe, among other things, and said that he would
need to have his union representative present if she had to
talk to him about the hat again.
    Dodge sued Principal Garrett, HR Officer Gomes, and
the District under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for retaliating against
him for engaging in protected political speech in violation of
the First Amendment. The district court held that the
individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity
and granted summary judgment in their favor. The district
court also granted summary judgment for the District,
concluding that Dodge failed to show a genuine issue of
material fact that the District was liable. Dodge appealed.
We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm
the district court’s grant of summary judgment for HR
Officer Gomes and the District, but we reverse and remand
as to Principal Garrett.
                    I. BACKGROUND
    Because this case was resolved on defendants’ motions
for summary judgment, we view the facts in the light most
favorable to Dodge, the nonmovant. Rice v. Morehouse, 989
F.3d 1112, 1120 (9th Cir. 2021).
     A. Dodge’s Interactions with Principal Garrett
    Dodge worked as a teacher for the District for over 17
years. For the 2019–2020 school year, he was assigned to
teach at Wy’east Middle School (Wy’east) for the first time,
6          DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

and his class was sixth grade science. The week before
school started, Dodge attended a cultural sensitivity and
racial bias training held at Wy’east presented by a professor
from Washington State University. There were
approximately 60 attendees at the training. Dodge wore his
MAGA hat up to the front doors of the school and then took
it off when he entered the building. During the training,
Dodge sat near the back of the room and placed his hat either
on the table in front of him or on top of his backpack; he did
not wear his hat during the training.
    The professor leading the training saw Dodge’s hat and
complained to Principal Garrett after the training that she felt
intimidated and traumatized. Principal Garrett also learned
that Dodge’s hat upset a few teachers who attended the
training. One teacher had cried, and another found the hat
“threatening.” There is no allegation that Dodge did
anything with his hat during the training other than place it
near him with his other things, nor is there any allegation that
he did anything to interfere with or disrupt the training.
    Principal Garrett called HR Officer Gomes to discuss
what could be done “without infringing or disrespecting
anyone”; they agreed that the “best option was to talk to
[Dodge] directly,” explain the “reaction” that the hat had
elicited, and “give him a heads-up that he was most likely
inadvertently causing distress and give him an opportunity
to respond to that.”
    Later that afternoon, Principal Garrett spoke to Dodge in
his classroom. She asked Dodge why he wore the hat, and he
stated that he wore it to protect sunspots on his head. He also
explained that he “like[s] the message” behind the hat
because it “speaks to everybody” by saying “let’s all do it
the best that we can and be the best that we can be at
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114           7

whatever it is that we do.” Principal Garrett responded that
“some people take [the hat] as a symbol of hate and bigotry”
and that while she could not ask him to stop wearing it, he
should use “better judgment” in the future. Dodge tried to
explain that he wore the hat to show that “[m]aybe they’re
not all bad,” but by the end of the conversation he understood
that Principal Garrett was effectively asking him not to wear
his MAGA hat at Wy’east. For her part, Principal Garrett
said that Dodge denied trying to “engender some kind of
response with the hat” by bringing it to a racial equity
training. She also stated that Dodge attempted to talk politics
during their conversation but that she “shut it down.”
    The next day, Dodge attended another teacher training
that was held at Evergreen High School. He again wore his
MAGA hat before entering the building and then took it off
while he was inside. A teacher who was present at the first
day’s training saw the hat and texted Principal Garrett.
Principal Garrett again called HR Officer Gomes. This time
they agreed that Principal Garrett needed to “set a clear
directive with [Dodge]” to “not hav[e] the hat in the training
where it was causing the disruption to staff.”
    When the training at Evergreen High School was over,
Dodge drove back to Wy’east for a third training that was
later that same day. This time, he left his MAGA hat in his
truck and did not bring it into the Wy’east building. When
the training was over, Dodge stayed behind to talk to
Principal Garrett about teaching classes other than science.
The parties disagree about what happened during this
conversation. Dodge alleges that when he approached
Principal Garrett she stated: “What is the fucking deal with
your hat?” She also called Dodge a “homophobe and a racist
and a bigot and hateful.” And when he denied wearing his
hat at Wy’east the second day, she called him a “liar” and
8          DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

specified that she did not want him wearing the hat “period.”
Finally, Principal Garrett said: “[N]ext time I see you with
that hat, you need to have your union rep. Bring your rep
because I’ll have mine.” Principal Garrett disputes that she
mistreated Dodge, including by using profanity or raising
her voice, but she admits that she was frustrated and viewed
Dodge continuing to have his hat with him as
“insubordination.”
    Later that night, Dodge emailed Principal Garrett stating
that he was “taken back by our conversation today when you
told me if I wear that hat again, that I better have a
representative with me.” He stated that her “unprovoked
attack” made him “sick to [his] stomach” and nervous, but
that he was “sorry for offending [her].” Principal Garrett
responded two days later recounting that he admitted to
wearing “the hat to purposefully provoke a reaction or
response from [his] colleagues.” She explained that her
reference to union representation only meant that “if we
needed to discuss [the MAGA hat] again, I would have
another administrator with me to take notes and you would
be invited to bring a representative.” Principal Garrett
forwarded Dodge’s email and her response to HR Officer
Gomes, who praised it as an “[e]xcellent response!”
    B. The District’s Investigations of Principal Garrett
    Dodge asked his union representative for advice after his
second encounter with Principal Garrett, and the
representative contacted the District. The representative was
informed that the District was not going to take any action
against Principal Garrett, and Dodge filed a harassment,
intimidation, and bullying (HIB) complaint against Principal
Garrett through the District’s online reporting system.
Dodge also requested a transfer to a different school.
          DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114          9

Dodge’s HIB complaint was sent to HR Officer Gomes, who
initiated an investigation as required by District policy. HR
Officer Gomes contracted third-party liability investigator
Clear Risk Solutions (CRS) to perform the investigation and
determine whether Principal Garrett violated District
policies in her treatment of Dodge.
    At some point during the investigation, HR Officer
Gomes received a public records request from a local news
agency related to Dodge’s HIB complaint. She told Dodge
that responding to the request may require her to disclose
information from his personnel file but that she would not
have to disclose the information if he withdrew his HIB
complaint. She also advised him that the investigation into
his allegations would proceed even if he withdrew his HIB
complaint. Dodge declined to withdraw his complaint.
    CRS completed its investigation and prepared a
preliminary investigative report. The preliminary report
concluded that “Dodge was singled out because he wore a
‘Make America Great Again’ hat” and was “subjected to
negative treatment and denied his freedom of expression . . .
because of perceived stereotypes or political differences of
opinion.” The preliminary report also found that Dodge had
not violated any school policy by having his MAGA hat, that
Principal Garrett had allowed other types of political
messaging around the school, and that her reference to union
representation was “reasonably perceived by Mr. Dodge as
a threat of discipline.” Nonetheless, CRS’s preliminary
report also determined that Principal Garrett had not
technically violated any school policy because the District’s
antidiscrimination policy did not ban discrimination based
on political beliefs and the encounters between Dodge and
Principal Garrett did not rise to the level of harassment,
intimidation, or bullying.
10        DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

    HR Officer Gomes reviewed the preliminary report and
asked CRS to change some of the language before issuing its
final report. She was concerned that CRS’s conclusions
about violation of Dodge’s “freedom of expression” and him
being singled out for his political beliefs were outside the
scope of CRS’s task—to investigate whether Principal
Garrett had violated District policy. CRS removed the
language that HR Officer Gomes had concerns about.
    Relying on the final report, HR Officer Gomes
determined that no policy violation had occurred, and she
wrote a letter to Dodge explaining that no further action
would be taken on his HIB complaint. But she also stated
that the District would transfer Dodge to a different school,
as he requested, and that the District would educate all
employees about engaging in political discourse without
violating constitutional rights. She further assured Dodge
that he would not be retaliated against for filing his HIB
complaint. Dodge appealed HR Officer Gomes’s denial of
his HIB complaint to the school board, and the school board
affirmed. However, aware of other complaints about
Principal Garrett lodged by school parents, the school board
ordered further investigation into whether Principal Garrett
had acted professionally in her interactions with Dodge.
During this second investigation, the school board informed
Principal Garrett that it had a “strong belief” that her
conversations with Dodge were not as she had represented
in addition to concerns about her “professionalism which
bring credibility into question.” Ultimately, the school board
gave Principal Garrett the choice of resigning as principal
and accepting a demotion or facing disciplinary proceedings.
She resigned at the end of the school year.
             DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114                    11

                 C. District Court Proceedings
     Dodge sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that
Principal Garrett and HR Officer Gomes retaliated against
him for having his MAGA hat in violation of his First
Amendment right to free speech. He also sued the District,
claiming that the school board ratified the unconstitutional
actions of the individual defendants by affirming the denial
of his HIB complaint. 1 The district court granted summary
judgment against all of Dodge’s claims. It concluded that
Principal Garrett and HR Officer Gomes were protected by
qualified immunity because it was not clearly established
that their actions violated the Constitution. It also concluded
that Dodge failed to present evidence that the school board
ratified any unconstitutional actions by Principal Garrett or
HR Officer Gomez and, even if it had, there was not a
sufficient causal connection between the school board’s
decision to affirm the denial of Dodge’s HIB complaint and
Dodge’s injury. Dodge timely appealed.
                         II. DISCUSSION
   We review de novo the district court’s summary
judgment rulings, including its determinations regarding
qualified immunity. Hughes v. Rodriguez, 31 F.4th 1211,
1218 (9th Cir. 2022).
                    A. Individual Defendants
   The district court granted the individual defendants
summary judgment, concluding that they were protected by
qualified immunity. In reviewing this decision, we must
analyze whether the individual defendants violated “clearly

1
 Dodge sues Principal Garrett and HR Officer Gomes in their individual
capacities and the District under a municipal theory of liability set forth
in Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978).
12         DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

established statutory or constitutional rights of which a
reasonable person would have known.” Horton by Horton v.
City of Santa Maria, 915 F.3d 592, 599 (9th Cir. 2019)
(quoting Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818 (1982)).
This is a well-known, two-part analysis: (1) whether a
protected right was violated, and (2) whether that right was
clearly established at the time of the violation. See, e.g.,
Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 232 (2009). Courts have
discretion to determine in which order to address these
inquiries “in light of the circumstances in the particular case
at hand.” Id. at 236. Although the district court analyzed only
the second part of this test, whether any constitutional
violation was clearly established, we address both inquiries.
              1. First Amendment Violation
    To establish a prima facie First Amendment retaliation
claim, the plaintiff must prove that “(1) []he engaged in
protected speech; (2) the defendants took an ‘adverse
employment action’ against h[im]; and (3) h[is] speech was
a ‘substantial or motivating’ factor for the adverse
employment action.” Howard v. City of Coos Bay, 871 F.3d
1032, 1044 (9th Cir. 2017) (quoting Thomas v. City of
Beaverton, 379 F.3d 802, 808 (9th Cir. 2004)). If the plaintiff
establishes a prima facie case, “the burdens of evidence and
persuasion . . . shift to the Defendants to show that the
balance of interests justified their adverse employment
decision.” Eng v. Cooley, 552 F.3d 1062, 1074 (9th Cir.
2009). That is, a defendant can avoid liability for retaliation
by showing that it had a legitimate administrative interest in
suppressing the speech that outweighed the plaintiff’s First
            DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114                  13

Amendment rights. Pickering v. Bd. of Ed., 391 U.S. 563,
568 (1968). 2
                       a. Protected Speech
   Whether a public employee like Dodge has engaged in
speech protected by the First Amendment breaks down to
two inquiries: (1) whether he “spoke on a matter of public
concern,” and (2) whether he “spoke as a private citizen or
public employee.” Johnson v. Poway Unified Sch. Dist., 658
F.3d 954, 961 (9th Cir. 2011) (quoting Eng, 552 F.3d at
1070).
                  i. Matter of Public Concern
    Speech addresses an issue of public concern “when it can
‘be fairly considered as relating to any matter of political,
social, or other concern to the community,’ or when it ‘is a
subject of legitimate news interest.’” Lane v. Franks, 573
U.S. 228, 241 (2014) (quoting Snyder v. Phelps, 562 U.S.
443, 453 (2011)). What constitutes public concern is
“defined broadly,” Ulrich v. City & County of San
Francisco, 308 F.3d 968, 978 (9th Cir. 2002), based on the
“content, form, and context of a given statement, as revealed
by the whole record,” Johnson v. Multnomah County, 48
F.3d 420, 422 (9th Cir. 1995) (quoting Connick v. Myers,
461 U.S. 138, 147–48 (1983)). While no single factor is
dispositive, “content is the most important.” Thomas, 379
F.3d at 810.

2
 An employer also is not liable for First Amendment retaliation if it
proves that it would have taken the adverse employment action absent
the protected speech. See Howard, 871 F.3d at 1046–48. This rule is not
at issue here, however, because neither Principal Garrett nor HR Officer
Gomes dispute that any adverse employment action that occurred was
related to Dodge’s MAGA hat.
14        DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

    Here, Dodge’s speech was his display of Donald
Trump’s presidential campaign slogan on a red hat. The
content of this speech is quintessentially a matter of public
concern. The messages of candidates for public office are not
only newsworthy; they inherently relate to the “political,
social, or other concern to the community.” Lane, 573 U.S.
at 241 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); cf.
Rankin v. McPherson, 483 U.S. 378, 386 (1987)
(“addressing the policies of the President’s administration”
“plainly deal[s] with a matter of public concern.”). Indeed,
Principal Garrett and others viewed Dodge’s hat as a
comment on issues such as immigration, racism, and bigotry,
which are all matters of public concern.
    The defendants’ suggestion that Dodge was not
conveying a political message because he wore his hat to
protect his skin ignores the reality that both can be true—he
wore his hat as protection, and he chose this hat because of
the message that it conveyed. The suggestion that Dodge did
not intend to communicate a message with his hat is also
belied by his statements that he used the hat to “show people
who [he was],” he liked the message behind “Make America
Great Again” because it was “kind of who [he is],” and he
owned the hat because he “show[s] support for Donald
Trump.” And regardless of Dodge’s intent, the MAGA hat
has an obvious political nature. See Alpha Energy Savers,
Inc. v. Hansen, 381 F.3d 917, 925 (9th Cir. 2004).
   Defendants also suggest that the context of Dodge’s
speech—a teacher-only training with a limited audience—
undermines the conclusion that any message Dodge was
conveying was a matter of public concern. However, a
government employee does not lose the right to speak out
about issues of public concern in forums closed to the
general public. Connick, 461 U.S. at 148 n.8; Thomas, 379
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114         15

F.3d at 810 (“Because content is the most important factor,
we have concluded that speech about a matter of public
concern may be protected even when made in a private
context.”). Considering the content, form, and context of
Dodge’s speech, we conclude that it was a matter of public
concern. Johnson, 48 F.3d at 422.
               ii. Public vs. Private Speech
    The second inquiry—whether Dodge was speaking as a
private citizen or a public employee—depends on the “scope
and content of [his] job responsibilities.” Poway Unified Sch.
Dist., 658 F.3d at 966 (quoting Eng, 552 F.3d at 1071). A
person speaks in a personal capacity if he “‘had no official
duty’ to make the questioned statements, or if the speech was
not the product of ‘perform[ing] the tasks [he] was paid to
perform.’” Posey v. Lake Pend Oreille Sch. Dist. No. 84, 546
F.3d 1121, 1127 n.2 (9th Cir. 2008) (citations omitted).
    Here, Dodge had no official duty to wear the MAGA hat,
and it was not required to perform his job. Nor did he wear
the hat in school with students. That distinguishes this case
from other cases involving speech in schools where the
speech was reasonably viewed by students and parents as
officially promoted by the school. See Poway Unified Sch.
Dist., 658 F.3d at 967–68 (large religious banners hung up
in classroom); Peloza v. Capistrano Unified Sch. Dist., 37
F.3d 517, 519–20 (9th Cir. 1994) (teaching creationism over
evolutionism). Where Dodge was not taking “advantage of
his position to press his particular views upon the
impressionable and ‘captive’ minds before him,” Poway
Unified Sch. Dist., 658 F.3d at 968, but rather was displaying
a message on a personal item while attending a teacher-only
training, we have little trouble concluding that he was
16          DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

engaging in expression as a private citizen, not a public
employee.
    Because the undisputed facts demonstrate that Dodge’s
MAGA hat conveyed a message of public concern and he
was acting as a private citizen in expressing that message,
we conclude that Dodge was engaged in speech protected by
the First Amendment.
               b. Adverse Employment Action
    The second element of a prima facie First Amendment
retaliation claim is an adverse employment action. 3 To
determine if an adverse employment action occurred for
purposes of First Amendment retaliation, we apply the
“reasonably likely to deter” test. Greisen v. Hanken, 925
F.3d 1097, 1113 (9th Cir. 2019). Under this test, the plaintiff
must prove that the employer’s action was “reasonably likely
to deter [them] from engaging in constitutionally protected
speech.” Id. (quoting Coszalter v. City of Salem, 320 F.3d
968, 970 (9th Cir. 2003)). The plaintiff need not have
suffered a tangible loss. See Brodheim v. Cry, 584 F.3d 1262,
1269–70 (9th Cir. 2009). The purpose of protection against
retaliation for engaging in protected speech is to stop
“actions by a government employer that ‘chill the exercise
of protected’ First Amendment rights.” Dahlia v. Rodriguez,
735 F.3d 1060, 1078 (9th Cir. 2013) (en banc) (quoting

3
 Principal Garrett and HR Officer Gomes assert that Dodge’s appeal fails
because he did not argue that he suffered an adverse employment action
in his opening brief. We reject this argument because the district court
did not address whether Dodge suffered an adverse employment action
in granting summary judgment. Dodge did not waive the ability to
oppose defendants’ argument that he suffered no adverse employment
action by failing to proactively anticipate this argument in his opening
brief. Warmenhoven v. NetApp, Inc., 13 F.4th 717, 729 (9th Cir. 2021).
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114          17

Coszalter, 320 F.3d at 974–75). Thus, the key question is
whether the retaliatory activity “would ‘chill or silence a
person of ordinary firmness’ from continuing to speak out.”
Blair v. Bethel Sch. Dist., 608 F.3d 540, 543 n.1 (9th Cir.
2010) (quoting Mendocino Env’t Ctr. v. Mendocino County,
192 F.3d 1283, 1300 (9th Cir. 1999)). The “precise nature of
the retaliation is not critical to the inquiry.” Coszalter, 320
F.3d at 974.
    Under this test we have recognized that “[v]arious kinds
of employment actions may have an impermissible chilling
effect,” including “minor acts of retaliation,” Dahlia, 735
F.3d at 1079 (citing Coszalter, 320 F.3d at 975), and
“[i]nformal measures, such as ‘the threat of invoking legal
sanctions and other means of coercion, persuasion, and
intimidation.’” Mulligan v. Nichols, 835 F.3d 983, 989 n.5
(9th Cir. 2016) (citation omitted). We have also recognized
that the insinuation or threat that “some form of punishment
or adverse regulatory action” may follow can also chill a
person from speaking and violate the First Amendment.
Greisen, 925 F.3d at 1114 (quoting Brodheim, 584 F.3d at
1270); Coszalter, 320 F.3d at 976–77 (even a “threat of
disciplinary action” may constitute adverse employment
action for purposes of First Amendment retaliation).
   Because Dodge has alleged that Principal Garrett and HR
Officer Gomes took separate retaliatory actions against him,
we address the allegations against them individually.
                    i. Principal Garrett
    Dodge contends that Principal Garrett’s entire course of
conduct related to his MAGA hat was an adverse
employment action because her actions were reasonably
likely to deter him (indeed, her goal was to deter him) from
engaging in protected speech. Viewing the facts in the light
18        DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

most favorable to Dodge, we agree that, at a minimum, there
are triable issues of fact regarding whether Principal Garrett
took adverse employment action against him.
    The first day, Principal Garrett, who was Dodge’s
supervisor, told him that he needed to use “better judgment”
and not have his MAGA hat at Wy’east. The second day, she
called him a racist, a bigot, a homophobe, and a liar, and
swore at him for having his MAGA hat with him again. By
itself, such criticism or “bad-mouthing” does not constitute
an adverse employment action sufficient for a First
Amendment retaliation claim. See, e.g., Nunez v. City of Los
Angeles, 147 F.3d 867, 875 (9th Cir. 1998). Principal Garrett
also has First Amendment rights after all. See id. (“It would
be the height of irony, indeed, if mere speech, in response to
speech, could constitute a First Amendment violation.”). But
Principal Garrett went beyond criticizing Dodge’s political
views. She suggested that disciplinary action could occur if
she saw Dodge with his hat again by referencing the need for
union representation: “The next time I see you with that hat,
you need to have your union rep. Bring your rep because I’ll
have my own.” It is hardly controversial that threatening a
subordinate’s employment if they do not stop engaging in
protected speech is reasonably likely to deter that person
from speaking. See Brodheim, 584 F.3d at 1270; Dahlia, 735
F.3d at 1079.
    Principal Garrett claims that she was “[s]imply advising
Mr. Dodge of his right to have a representative at any future
conversations about the hat,” which is his right under his
collective bargaining agreement. This characterization
undersells the import and implications that a reasonable
employee would attribute to such a statement. “The power
of a threat lies not in any negative actions eventually taken,
but in the apprehension it creates in the recipient of the
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114           19

threat.” Brodheim, 584 F.3d at 1271. For example, we have
held that a prison official’s statement “to be careful what you
write, req[u]est on this form,” written on a grievance denial
form returned to a prisoner created a genuine issue of fact
regarding whether that statement was an adverse action
where there “were a number of things that [the prison
official] could have done if [the prisoner] failed to comply
with his warning that would have had a negative effect.” Id.
at 1265–66, 1270. Although there was no “explicit, specific
threat of discipline or transfer,” we reasoned that “a
statement that ‘warns’ a person to stop doing something
carries the implication of some consequence of a failure to
heed that warning.” Id. at 1270.
    Here, Dodge’s principal, who had authority over his
employment, stated that the next time he had his MAGA hat,
they would have a meeting in which he would need his union
representative. The purpose of summary judgment is to
determine if there are material factual disputes, not to resolve
them. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249
(1986). At a minimum, there is a genuine issue of fact
regarding whether Dodge reasonably interpreted Principal
Garrett’s statement as a threat against his employment.
While Principal Garrett also had First Amendment rights,
she may not use her position of authority over Dodge “as a
means to retaliate for [his] expression.” Coszalter, 320 F.3d
at 974.
                   ii. HR Officer Gomes
    Dodge argues that HR Officer Gomes took adverse
action against him by counseling Principal Garrett on how to
respond to his MAGA hat and in her subsequent
investigation and dismissal of his HIB complaint against
Principal Garrett. Regarding HR Officer Gomes’s advice to
20         DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

Principal Garrett, the record does not reflect that she
“cause[d]” or otherwise “set[] in motion a series of acts by
others which [she] kn[ew] or reasonably should know would
cause others to inflict the constitutional injury.” Dahlia, 735
F.3d at 1078 n.22 (quoting Gilbrook v. City of Westminster,
177 F.3d 839, 854 (9th Cir. 1999)). The record does not
indicate that HR Officer Gomes counselled Principal Garrett
to yell or swear at Dodge or accuse him of having
discriminatory beliefs. But even if she had, that also would
have been insufficient “bad-mouthing.” See Coszalter, 320
F.3d at 975–76. Dodge similarly has not put forth evidence
establishing that HR Officer Gomes counseled Principal
Garrett to tell Dodge that he would need a union
representative if his MAGA hat came up again or to make
any reference to involving union representation.
     Dodge points to a laundry-list of HR Officer Gomes’s
separate conduct that he contends qualify as adverse
employment actions, including (1) handling the
investigation of his HIB complaint and failing to recuse
herself as a potential witness, (2) meeting with Principal
Garrett during this investigation, (3) requesting CRS to
remove discussion of Dodge’s “freedom of expression” from
its final report, (4) presenting CRS’s findings to the school
board, (5) trying to induce Dodge to drop his HIB complaint
when she informed him about the media’s public records
request, (6) denying his request to remain on paid
administrative leave while he appealed her denial of his HIB
complaint to the school board, and (7) refusing to recuse
herself from other leave and benefits requests that he made.
   It is understandable why Dodge was concerned about HR
Officer Gomes being involved in the investigation of his
HIB complaint against Principal Garrett given HR Officer
Gomes’s involvement in the events leading up to his
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114         21

complaint. But the flaw in his adverse-employment-action
argument against HR Officer Gomes is that he does not
explain how her actions were reasonably likely to deter him
from engaging in protected speech. At least some of her
conduct may have encouraged a reasonable employee to
continue to engage in protected speech. The investigation
that she oversaw and presented to the school board
determined that Dodge did not violate school policy by
having his MAGA hat. And while she told Dodge that he
could drop his HIB complaint to avoid having to respond to
the public records request, she also stated that the
investigation of his allegations against Principal Garrett
would continue even if he dropped his complaint. The record
does not indicate that her statements about the public records
request insinuated any threat against him or his employment.
It is also worth noting that HR Officer Gomes approved
Dodge’s request to be transferred to a different school and
committed to having District employees trained on freedom
of expression.
   In sum, the record fails to establish that HR Officer
Gomes took any adverse employment action against Dodge,
and for this reason, his First Amendment retaliation claim
against her fails as a matter of law.
           c. Substantial or Motivating Factor
    The last element that Dodge must prove to establish a
First Amendment retaliation claim is that his protected
speech motivated any adverse employment action taken
against him. Howard, 871 F.3d at 1044–45. We do not
address HR Officer Gomes as relates to this issue because
she did not take any adverse employment actions against
22           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

Dodge. 4 As for Principal Garrett, it is undisputed that
Dodge’s MAGA hat motivated her actions. Thus, Dodge has
submitted sufficient evidence of a prima facie First
Amendment retaliation claim against Principal Garrett for
purposes of summary judgment.
                       d. Pickering Balancing
    Next, we must analyze whether Principal Garrett
established that she had a legitimate administrative interest
in preventing Dodge’s speech that outweighed Dodge’s First
Amendment rights. Pickering, 391 U.S. at 568. In Pickering,
the Supreme Court instructed that courts must conduct “‘a
fact-sensitive and deferential weighing of the government’s
legitimate interests’ as employer against the First
Amendment rights of the employee.” Riley’s Am. Heritage
Farms v. Elsasser, 32 F.4th 707, 720 (9th Cir. 2022) (citation
omitted). “[P]romoting workplace efficiency and avoiding
workplace disruption” is a valid government interest that can
justify speech restrictions. Hufford v. McEnaney, 249 F.3d
1142, 1148 (9th Cir. 2001).
    Whether speech disrupted the workplace is fact-specific
and depends on “‘the manner, time, and place in which’ the
employee’s speech took place.” Clairmont, 632 F.3d at 1107
(citation omitted). Speech is disruptive only when there is an
“‘actual, material and substantial disruption,’ or [there are]

4
 Even if we were to analyze this element as to HR Officer Gomes, the
record reflects that she did not depart from District policies in overseeing
the investigation of Dodge’s HIB complaint or in handling Dodge’s
complicated medical and administrative leave benefits requests. This
weighs against a finding of retaliatory animus. See, e.g., Vill. of Arlington
Heights v. Metro. Hous. Dev. Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 267 (1977)
(compliance with preestablished policies weighs against a finding of
retaliatory intent).
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114         23

‘reasonable predictions of disruption’ in the workplace.”
Robinson v. York, 566 F.3d 817, 824 (9th Cir. 2009)
(citations omitted); see also Keyser v. Sacramento City
Unified Sch. Dist., 265 F.3d 741, 749 n.2 (9th Cir. 2001).
Disruption “impairs discipline by superiors or harmony
among co-workers, has a detrimental impact on close
working relationships for which personal loyalty and
confidence are necessary, or impedes the performance of the
speaker’s duties or interferes with the regular operation of
the enterprise.” Nunez v. Davis, 169 F.3d 1222, 1228 (9th
Cir. 1999) (quoting Rankin, 483 U.S. at 388). Speech that
outrages or upsets co-workers without evidence of “any
actual injury” to school operations does not constitute a
disruption. Settlegoode v. Portland Pub. Schs., 371 F.3d 503,
514 (9th Cir. 2004). Other relevant considerations in the
school context are whether “students and parents have
expressed concern that the plaintiff’s conduct has disrupted
the school’s normal operations, or has eroded the public trust
between the school and members of its community.” Riley’s
Am. Heritage Farms, 32 F.4th at 725.
     The government’s burden in proving disruption “varies
with the content of the speech.” Hyland v. Wonder, 972 F.2d
1129, 1139 (9th Cir. 1992). “The more tightly the First
Amendment embraces the speech the more vigorous a
showing of disruption must be made.” Id.; see also Connick,
461 U.S. at 150–52. Speech about matters of public concern
“occupies the ‘highest rung of the hierarchy of [F]irst
[A]mendment values.’” Allen v. Scribner, 812 F.2d 426, 430
(9th Cir. 1987) (quoting NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware
Co., 458 U.S. 886, 913 (1982)). Thus, employers must make
a “‘stronger showing’ of disruption when the speech deal[s]
. . . directly with issues of public concern.” Robinson, 566
F.3d at 826 (quoting McKinley v. City of Eloy, 705 F.2d
24         DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

1110, 1115 (9th Cir. 1983)). Moreover, “[t]he First
Amendment affords the broadest protection to . . . political
expression,” Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 14 (1976), and “a
ban on wearing any ‘political badge, political button, or
other political insignia’ plainly restricts a form of expression
within the protection of the First Amendment,” Minn. Voters
All. v. Mansky, 138 S. Ct. 1876, 1885 (2018); see also Ariz.
Free Enter. Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett, 564 U.S.
721, 734 (2011) (the First Amendment “‘has its fullest and
most urgent application’ to speech uttered during a campaign
for political office.” (quoting Eu v. San Francisco County
Democratic Cent. Comm., 489 U.S. 214, 223 (1989))).
    Here, Principal Garrett contends that her interest in
preventing disruption among the staff at Wy’east
outweighed Dodge’s right to free speech. Given the nature
of Dodge’s speech, she has a particularly heavy burden
under the Pickering test. Principal Garrett points to evidence
that teachers and staff felt “‘intimidated,’ ‘shock[ed],’
‘upset,’ ‘angry,’ ‘scared,’ ‘frustrated,’ and ‘didn’t feel safe’”
after learning about Dodge’s MAGA hat. But there is no
evidence that Dodge’s hat “interfered with h[is] ability to
perform h[is] job or the regular operation” of the school,
Nunez, 169 F.3d at 1229, or that its presence injured any of
the school’s legitimate interests “beyond the ‘disruption that
necessarily accompanies’ [controversial] speech,” Keyser,
265 F.3d at 749 (quoting Johnson, 48 F.3d at 427).
    There is no evidence that Dodge or his hat interfered with
the teacher training sessions. Dodge sat in the back of the
room quietly during both trainings with the hat either on his
table or on his backpack beside him. From the approximately
60 attendees present, fewer than five people complained,
including the first presenter who was not a District employee
and a teacher who did not work at Wy’east. And regardless,
             DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114                    25

both trainings were completed without incident. Nor did
Dodge’s expression cause any disruption to school. He had
his hat at teachers-only trainings where students and parents
were not present, and he told Principal Garrett that he would
not wear it “in class, around parents, or in front of kids.” See
Riley’s Am. Heritage Farms, 32 F.4th at 726 (“[W]e give
less weight to the government’s concerns about the
disruptive impact of speech outside the workplace
context.”). No students or parents ever complained about
Dodge’s MAGA hat.
    In sum, while some of the training attendees may have
been outraged or offended by Dodge’s political expression,
no evidence of actual or tangible disruption to school
operations has been presented. 5 Political speech is the
quintessential example of protected speech, and it is
inherently controversial. See Nat’l Ass’n for Gun Rights,
Inc., v. Mangan, 933 F.3d 1102, 1111–12 (9th Cir. 2019);
McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm’n, 514 U.S. 334, 347
(1995). That some may not like the political message being
conveyed is par for the course and cannot itself be a basis for
finding disruption of a kind that outweighs the speaker’s
First Amendment rights. Therefore, Principal Garrett’s
asserted administrative interest in preventing disruption
among staff does not outweigh Dodge’s right to free speech.
For all these reasons, Dodge has presented sufficient

5
 As for Principal Garrett’s view that Dodge was being insubordinate, the
record establishes that his conduct did not justify restricting his speech.
See Nunez, 169 F.3d at 1228 (disagreeing with a supervisor on a “matter
of public concern” was not insubordination); cf. Weisbuch v. County of
Los Angeles, 119 F.3d 778, 782 (9th Cir. 1997) (insubordination was a
valid concern where a high-level employee “insist[ed] on a mode of
administering his department contrary to his supervisor’s policies”).
26        DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

evidence to create a triable issue regarding whether Principal
Garrett violated his constitutional rights.
             2. Clearly Established Violation
    Because Dodge has presented sufficient evidence from
which a jury could find a constitutional violation, we turn to
the second part of the qualified immunity analysis: whether
the constitutional right that Principal Garrett violated was
clearly established at the time of the violation. The district
court found that Principal Garrett was entitled to qualified
immunity because it was not clearly established that “the
outcome of the Pickering balance so clearly favored [Dodge]
that it would have been patently unreasonable for the school
officials to conclude that the First Amendment did not
protect his speech.” Brewster v. Bd. of Educ. of Lynwood
Unified Sch. Dist., 149 F.3d 971, 980 (9th Cir. 1998). On
appeal, Principal Garrett also focuses on the Pickering
element of First Amendment retaliation. Consequently, we
analyze only whether it was clearly established that the
Pickering balancing test favored Dodge.
    To be “clearly established,” “existing precedent must
have placed the statutory or constitutional question beyond
debate.” White v. Pauly, 137 S. Ct. 548, 551 (2017) (citation
omitted). We are not to frame the issues presented at “too
high a level of generality,” and must “adequately adjust[] to
account for [Principal Garrett]’s interests in avoiding
disruption to [the school’s] operations under the Pickering
test.” Riley’s Am. Heritage Farms, 32 F.4th at 733 n.12.
Thus, it would be inappropriate to frame the right here as
“the general right to be free from retaliation for one’s
speech.” Reichle v. Howards, 566 U.S. 658, 665 (2012).
Instead, we must define the rights implicated here at a level
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114           27

commensurate with the specific factual and legal context of
the case. See id.
     As the Pickering analysis “requires a fact-sensitive,
context-specific balancing of competing interests, the law
regarding public-employee free speech claims will ‘rarely, if
ever, be sufficiently clearly established to preclude qualified
immunity.’” Brewster, 149 F.3d at 980 (quoting Moran v.
Washington, 147 F.3d 839, 847 (9th Cir. 1998)).
Nevertheless, a plaintiff need not produce “a case directly on
point.” Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 563 U.S. 731, 741 (2011).
Instead, it is enough to show that “‘[t]he contours of [a] right
[are] sufficiently clear’ that every ‘reasonable official would
[have understood] that what he is doing violates that right.’”
Id. (quoting Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640
(1987)). Put differently, “a general constitutional rule
already identified in the decisional law may apply with
obvious clarity to the specific conduct in question, even
though ‘the very action in question has [not] previously been
held unlawful.’” United States v. Lanier, 520 U.S. 259, 271
(1997) (quoting Anderson, 483 U.S. at 640). “[O]fficials can
still be on notice that their conduct violates established law
even in novel factual circumstances” if the “case involve[s]
‘mere application of settled law to a new factual
permutation.’” Eng, 552 F.3d at 1076 (quoting Porter v.
Bowen, 496 F.3d 1009, 1026 (9th Cir. 2007)).
    Applying these principles, we ask whether it is patently
unreasonable for a school official to believe that she could
lawfully threaten a subordinate’s employment because he
brought a political campaign hat to teacher-only trainings
after several teachers complained about the political
messaging they attributed to the hat. This case presents one
of the rare occasions where the Pickering balancing test so
clearly cuts in Dodge’s favor that the violation of his First
28         DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

Amendment rights was clearly established. In other words,
it was patently unreasonable for Principal Garrett to believe
that she could restrict Dodge’s speech to quell what was, in
reality, nothing more than the natural effect that disfavored
political speech often has on those with different viewpoints.
This is so even though there is not a prior case addressing
the precise facts presented here because there are several
cases that set forth clearly established rules that apply with
“obvious clarity to the specific conduct in question,”
especially in light of the arguments that Principal Garrett
raises. Lanier, 520 U.S. at 271.
    We start our analysis with the context that gave rise to
the Pickering balancing test. In 1968, a public-school teacher
wrote a letter to the local paper criticizing certain budgetary
actions of the school board. Pickering, 391 U.S. at 564. The
school board fired the teacher after determining that the
“publication of the letter was ‘detrimental to the efficient
operation and administration of the schools of the district’”
and that the “interests of the schools require(d) (his
dismissal).” Id. at 564–65. In the first application of the
Pickering balancing test, the Supreme Court held that the
First Amendment interests of the teacher outweighed the
administrative interests of the school. Id. at 573. The Court
emphasized that there was no evidence that the letter had
affected the community as a whole or the administration of
the school system. Id. at 567. Instead, the letter “reflect[ed]
rather a difference of opinion between [the teacher] and the
Board as to the preferable manner of operating the school
system” that would “not normally have any necessary impact
on the actual operation of the schools, beyond its tendency
to anger the Board.” Id. at 571. This was not enough to
justify restricting the speech as the letter did not “impede[]
the teacher’s proper performance of his daily duties in the
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114           29

classroom or . . . interfere[] with the regular operation of the
schools generally.” Id. at 572–73.
    The year after Pickering, the Supreme Court decided
Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503
(1969). In that case, students were suspended for wearing
armbands to protest the United States’ ongoing involvement
in the Vietnam War. Id. at 504. The trial court held that the
school authorities acted lawfully because they were
motivated by “their fear of a disturbance from the wearing
of the armbands.” Id. at 508. The Court disagreed,
concluding that the “record fails to yield evidence that the
school authorities had reason to anticipate that the wearing
of the armbands would substantially interfere with the work
of the school or impinge upon the rights of other students.”
Id. at 509. Instead, “the action of the school authorities
appears to have been based upon an urgent wish to avoid the
controversy which might result from the expression, even by
the silent symbol of armbands, of opposition to this Nation’s
part in the conflagration in Vietnam.” Id. at 510. The Court
explicitly stated that for “school officials to justify
prohibition of a particular expression of opinion, it must be
able to show that its action was caused by something more
than a mere desire to avoid the discomfort and
unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular
viewpoint.” Id. at 509. The Court noted that the school did
not “prohibit the wearing of all symbols of political or
controversial significance” because “students in some of the
schools wore buttons relating to national political
campaigns”; the armbands were “singled out for
prohibition.” Id. at 510–11. The Court concluded that
“[c]learly, the prohibition of expression of one particular
opinion, at least without evidence that it is necessary to avoid
30         DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

material and substantial interference with schoolwork or
discipline, is not constitutionally permissible.” Id. at 511.
     More recently, we have addressed a school’s ability to
curtail speech under the guise of protecting administrative
interests. In Settlegoode v. Portland Pub. Schs., a teacher
was hired to teach physical education to students with
disabilities. 371 F.3d 503, 507 (9th Cir. 2004). Finding the
equipment and materials provided insufficient for the
students, she complained and wrote letters to her direct
supervisors and to the superintendent. Id. at 507–08. When
she subsequently received negative performance reviews
and her contract was not renewed, she claimed First
Amendment retaliation. Id. at 509. A jury found for the
teacher, but the trial judge granted the defendants’ Rule 50
motion asserting qualified immunity and dismissed the case.
Id. We reversed, explaining that “[w]hen balancing interests
under the [Pickering] test, defendants must show ‘actual
injury to . . . legitimate interests’ beyond the ‘disruption that
necessarily accompanies’ such speech.” Id. at 513 (citation
omitted). We noted that the school district “presented very
little evidence of disruption” as the teacher had sent only
internal letters and discussed her grievances with supervisors
without making any public statements. Id. at 514. While co-
workers testified that they were “hurt,” “upset,” “furious,”
and “outraged” by the letters, we found there was no
evidence of “actual injury to the department,” id., such as
“impaired discipline or control by superiors, conflicts
between co-workers or interference with [her] performance
of her duties.” Id. at 515–16.
             DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114                   31

    Pickering, Tinker, and Settlegoode, along with several
other cases, 6 clearly establish that disagreement with a
disfavored political stance or controversial viewpoint, by
itself, is not a valid reason to curtail expression of that
viewpoint at a public school. Moreover, these cases each
considered restrictions on disfavored or unpopular speech in
the name of preventing disruption, when the only disruption
was the effect controversial speech has on those who
disagree with it because they disagree with it. Although
those cases did not involve a MAGA hat, the principles that

6
 This principle has arisen again and again. See e.g., Rankin, 483 U.S. at
384 (“Vigilance is necessary to ensure that public employers do not use
authority over employees to silence discourse, not because it hampers
public functions but simply because superiors disagree with the content
of the employees’ speech.”); Nunez, 169 F.3d at 1229 (“A public
employer cannot claim disruption of a close personal relationship to
cover up animus toward an employee’s speech and a desire to silence the
employee.”); see also Eng, 552 F.3d at 1074. And the precedent
establishes that “real, not imagined, disruption is required,” and
disruption between coworkers “cannot serve as a pretext for stifling
legitimate speech or penalizing public employees for expressing
unpopular views.” McKinley, 705 F.2d at 1115; see also Riley’s Am.
Heritage Farms, 32 F.4th at 730 (“[I]t is clearly established that a
government employer’s pretextual fear of a potential disruption or a
claim of imagined workplace disruption for which ‘there is no
support’ cannot outweigh the First Amendment interests of a
government employee.” (citations omitted)); see also Moser v. Las
Vegas Metro. Police Dep’t, 984 F.3d 900, 909 (9th Cir. 2021) (citing
Berger v. Battaglia, 779 F.2d 992, 1001 (4th Cir. 1985) (“[T]hreatened
disruption by others reacting to public employee speech simply may not
be allowed to serve as justification for public employer disciplinary
action directed at that speech.”)); cf. Keyser, 265 F.3d at 748 (protected
speech that naturally “‘engender[s] some hostility and resistance” cannot
be limited on account of the disruption that naturally follows (citation
omitted)).
32        DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

they established apply “with obvious clarity to the specific
conduct” here. Lanier, 520 U.S. at 271.
   Indeed, Principal Garrett does not seem to dispute that
she discriminated against Dodge’s viewpoint simply to
avoid the “discomfort and unpleasantness that always
accompany an unpopular viewpoint.” Tinker, 393 U.S. at
509. She argues to this court that having the hat on school
grounds harmed the interests of Wy’east:
       Mr. Dodge’s decision to wear his MAGA hat
       on school grounds within weeks of the Trump
       Administration’s loud and publicized
       initiative to deport as many immigrants as
       possible was an affront to Wy’east’s agenda
       of cultural inclusivity and interest in creating
       a safe place for ELL students. Ms. Garrett had
       a reasonable basis, given the anti- immigrant
       tenor radiating from the administration, to
       demonstrate inclusivity and tolerance to ELL
       students and their parents on the school
       campus . . . Mr. Dodge had [no] overriding
       First Amendment right to wear the MAGA
       hat on campus given the school’s stronger
       interest of fostering an atmosphere of
       workplace harmony, cultural inclusivity, and
       safety for the students and staff.

    It goes without saying that Dodge disputes this
characterization of his political views as evidenced by his
testimony explaining why he liked the MAGA message of
his hat. Accepting Principal Garrett’s arguments that
Dodge’s hat created disruption that warranted restricting his
          DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114         33

expression would be akin to picking which of their
competing political viewpoints is superior.
    It would be one thing if Principal Garrett was enforcing
a generally applicable policy that banned all political
expression. A government employer can categorically
prohibit political speech as a valid administrative interest
such that the prohibition does not favor or disfavor any
particular view. See Hudson v. Craven, 403 F.3d 691, 700–
01 (9th Cir. 2005). But that is not what happened here.
Although the District has a policy prohibiting all political
messaging in school now, the District’s counsel admitted at
oral argument that this policy was issued after Dodge filed
his HIB complaint. There was no general prohibition on
political speech when Principal Garrett told Dodge he could
not bring his MAGA hat to school.
    Even more troublesome, Principal Garrett openly
admitted and defended her allowance of other political
symbols and speech at Wy’east, including a Black Lives
Matter poster hanging in the school library and a Bernie
Sanders bumper sticker displayed on her own car. And this
speech was not without its own controversies; when another
teacher, married to a police officer, “expressed concerns
about a Black Lives [Matter] poster” directly to Principal
Garrett, she took no action and testified that she could not
understand why the teacher “felt like [the poster] was
disrespectful of police.” Principal Garrett’s explanation for
her differing reactions boils down to her viewpoint
preference:
34         DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

       While the Black Lives Matter poster is a
       symbol of cultural acceptance and inclusivity
       . . . Mr. Dodge’s MAGA hat is a symbol
       commonly associated with white supremacy
       and other anti-immigrant sentiments.
       Comparing an innocuous bumper sticker and
       a racially supportive poster to the MAGA hat
       is troglodytic and unacquainted with the
       affairs of the world.

Based on the long-established precedent of both this court
and the Supreme Court, a reasonable school administrator at
the time of the events in this case would have known that
this was improper and the perceived unpopularity of a
political view is not itself justification to prohibit protected
expression. Dodge’s right to express political views, even as
a public-school teacher, is clearly established. See Tinker,
393 U.S. at 506. That controversial political speech cannot
be quelled because others may find the speech objectionable
is clearly established. See id. at 508–09. Taking these
principles together, the outcome of the Pickering balancing
test in this case appears with “obvious clarity.” Lanier, 520
U.S. at 271; Eng, 552 F.3d at 1076. Therefore, the district
court erred by granting summary judgment to Principal
Garrett.
                       B. The District
    Dodge argues that the District is liable because the
school board ratified unconstitutional conduct by affirming
the denial of his HIB complaint against Principal Garrett and
by finding that she did not violate school policy. The
Supreme Court has held that a government entity is not liable
in a § 1983 action unless “the [entity] itself causes the
           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114          35

constitutional violation at issue.” City of Canton, Ohio v.
Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 385 (1989) (citing Monell v. New York
City Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694–95 (1989)). The
plaintiff must establish both factual causation and proximate
causation. Harper v. City of Los Angeles, 533 F.3d 1010,
1026 (9th Cir. 2008). One way of establishing such liability
is ratification, which occurs when authorized policymakers
“approve a subordinate’s decision and the basis for it.”
Bouman v. Block, 940 F.2d 1211, 1231 (9th Cir. 1991).
“Ratification . . . generally requires more than
acquiescence,” and “a mere failure to discipline . . . does not
amount to ratification” of allegedly unconstitutional actions.
Sheehan v. City & County of San Francisco, 743 F.3d 1211,
1231 (9th Cir. 2014), rev’d in part on other grounds, 575
U.S. 600 (2015).
    The school board’s dismissal of Dodge’s HIB complaint
on the grounds that Principal Garrett did not violate any
District “policy or procedure,” was not an approval of her
conduct or the basis for it. Concluding that conduct was not
prohibited is not the same as adopting or approving such
conduct. See Sheehan, 176 F.3d at 1239; see also Christie v.
Iopa, 176 F.3d 1231, 1239 (9th Cir. 1999) (“[I]t is well-
settled that a policymaker’s mere refusal to overrule a
subordinate’s completed act does not constitute approval.”).
Indeed, the school board conducted further investigation into
Principal Garrett’s conduct after the investigation of
Dodge’s HIB complaint was completed, and it ultimately
asked her to resign her position as principal or face
discipline. These facts do not evidence ratification.
Consequently, Dodge has failed to establish that a material
dispute of fact exists regarding whether the District ratified
any unconstitutional conduct by Principal Garrett.
36           DODGE V. EVERGREEN SCHOOL DISTRICT #114

                        III. CONCLUSION
    Taking the facts in the light most favorable to Dodge, a
jury could find that Principal Garrett retaliated against him
for engaging in political speech protected by the First
Amendment. Moreover, any violation of Dodge’s First
Amendment rights by Principal Garrett was clearly
established where long-standing precedent has held that
concern over the reaction to controversial or disfavored
speech itself does not justify restricting such speech. For
these reasons, we reverse the district court’s grant of
summary judgment in favor of Principal Garrett. Otherwise,
we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in
favor of HR Officer Gomes and the District for the reasons
explained.
  AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND
REMANDED. 7

7
 Each party shall bear its own costs.