In May 2025, Parents Defending Education asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to rehear its case against New York’s Croton-Harmon Union Free School District — a petition for rehearing “en banc”.
The district has aggressive speech codes. Its vague policies against “hate speech,” “harassment,” “incivility,” and similar conduct restrict students’ speech based on viewpoint, both on and off campus. PDE represents at least three members whose children attend school in the district and hold unpopular views they want to share, but stay silent because their speech could fall under these policies.
The lower courts dismissed the case under Aguayo v. Richardson, a 1973 Second Circuit decision holding that membership groups cannot sue on behalf of their members under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the federal law that lets people sue state officials for violating their constitutional rights. The Second Circuit is the only federal appeals court with this rule. Every other circuit lets associations bring these claims, and the Supreme Court regularly hears such cases. PDE asks the full court to overrule Aguayo.
Read the petition below:
