A full panel at the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appealsruled this week that religious students in an Ohio school district can use whatever pronouns they like when addressing their fellow classmates. While the ruling opens the door to students misgendering each other (no matter their gender identity), trans kids are most likely to be harmed as a result.The case involved a religious conservative parents group, Parents Defending Education, who objected to an Olentangy School District policy that required kids to address trans students by their preferred pronouns. Related School district pays $45K to teacher who refused to use trans students pronouns The parents group said that their children are forced to use language affirming trans students identities, when they assert there is a two-sex-only binary and dispute the possibility of transition from one sex to another.A 2023 email sent by one of the four plaintiffs in the case to the school district noted that the parent had a devoutly Christian child who believes that only two biological genders exist (male/female) and that those genders are decided at conception by God. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The court sided with the religious parents in the 10-7 decision issued Thursday, stating the school district did not demonstrate that the use of biological pronouns to refer to transgender and nonbinary students would materially and substantially disrupt school activities or infringe on the legal rights of others in the school community.The court issued a preliminary injunction barring the district from punishing students for referring to transgender students however they like.Our society continues to debate whether biological pronouns are appropriate or offensive just as it continues to debate many other issues surrounding transgender rights, the courts majority opinion stated. The school district may not skew this debate by forcing one side to change the way it conveys its message or by compelling it to express a different view.Yet, the narrow majority decision overruling local policy appeared to do just that. Taken to its logical conclusion, any student can now address any other student with whatever pronouns they like, without fear of punishment from the school.Adding a layer of confusion for both sides, the court said the order doesnt stop the school district from enforcing its other anti-harassment policies that protect transgender students.Nothing we say here forecloses the district from enforcing its anti-harassment policies against the abuse of transgender students just as it enforces those policies against the abuse of all other students, the court wrote. Statistics show that misgendering young people is linked to harms includinghigher rates of bullying, poor mental health, and suicide attempts. Using a students preferred pronouns can reduce the risk of suicidal behavior by over half, according to the Centers for Disease Control.Parents Defending Freedom, which counts all four plaintiffs in the lawsuit as members of its group, opposes what it calls ideologically driven curriculum with a concerning and often divisive emphasis on students group identities: race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and gender.The group argued that the districts policy violates students rights under the First and 14th amendments, and claimed the school districts pronoun policy requires students to affirm the idea that gender is fluid, contrary to their deeply held religious beliefs.Parents Defending Education was joined in the lawsuit by numerous other groups, including the ACLU of Ohio Foundation. LGBTQ Nation contacted the ACLU for comment and will update this story if it responds.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.