Brownsville ISD Coach Loses “No Handshake” Retaliation Appeal

U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
Ruling: A Brownsville ISD coach who refused to shake certain school board members’ hands at a meeting honoring his students can’t pursue a free speech retaliation claim because he attended as a district employee, not as a private citizen, a divided Fifth Circuit panel held.

• Lizette Lucio, Individually, as next friend M.A.L.; Marc Anthony Lucio, Individually, as next friend M.A.L., v. Brownsville ISD, et al., No. 25-40746 ($). Issued Oct. 23, 2026. Ordered “published.”