⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

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Peter Parnell, et al. v. School Board of Escambia County, Florida — 11th Cir. (Sep 29, 2026)

No. 25-13485 Argued September 29, 2026 Published October 2, 2026

The Eleventh Circuit hears a challenge to the removal of And Tango Makes Three from Escambia County school libraries. The picture book tells the true story of two male penguins raising a chick. Its authors, Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, and an elementary-school student sued the school board. They say it removed the book because of its positive portrayal of same-sex parenting. The district court ruled for the board without a trial, concluding that selecting school-library books did not infringe the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. The plaintiffs appeal. Corey Stoughton, of Selendy Gay, will argue for the authors and student that this viewpoint-based removal violated the First Amendment. The board will defend its authority to choose the library collection.

Peter Parnell, et al. v. School Board of Escambia County, Florida (No. 25-13485) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, argued September 29, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — Eleventh Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/oral_argument_recordings/25-13485_09292026.mp3
Argument date and case listing — Eleventh Circuit:https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/oral-argument-recordings?page=2
District court final order — September 30, 2025, Doc. 261 (actual filed order, public copy):https://www.wordsandmoney.com/content/files/2025/10/Summary-Judgement-in-Tango-Makes-Three-Case.pdf
Authors' and student's allegations — plaintiffs' filed trial brief, Doc. 246 (public copy):https://www.publishersweekly.com/binary-data/ARTICLE_ATTACHMENT/file/000/006/6742-1.pdf
Case-linked counsel and firms — ACLU filed amicus brief, Doc. 36, certificate of interested persons:https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2025/12/file-stamped.pdf
Corey Stoughton's firm and representation — official Selendy Gay profile:https://www.selendygay.com/people/corey-stoughton
Holdings and dicta — United States v. Caraballo-Martinez, Eleventh Circuit opinion (2017):https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201611772.pdf
Prior-panel precedent and dicta — United States v. Gillis, Eleventh Circuit opinion (2019):https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201616482.pdf

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