Associate Dean Jeffrey A. Dodge quoted in Bucks County Beacon on LGBTQ+ conversion therapy ban decision

CARLISLE, PA—Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Jeffrey A. Dodge was quoted in the Bucks County Beacon on the recent LGBTQ+ conversion therapy case out of the U.S. Supreme Court. The article focuses on the state-level impact of the 8-1 opinion in Chiles v. Salazar that found Colorado's ban on conversion talk therapy for LGBTQ+ minors violated the First Amendment by restricting free speech. You can read the article by clicking here.

In the article, Dodge summarized the case details and provided analysis on the ruling. He focused on the concurring opinion issued by Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, stating, “Kagan said in the concurring opinion, quote, ‘Because the state has suppressed one side of a debate, while aiding the other, the constitutional issue is straightforward.’ In taking a side through the way their [Colorado’s] ban was worded, that’s where the violation of the 1st Amendment has come forward. But, the concurring opinion really does say that some redrafting of this to make it more neutral, could address the First Amendment part of what won this case.”

The conversion therapy ban opinion is part of Dodge's broader scholarly focus on how the law treats LGBTQ+ families and youth. His current research is on the segregatory effects of anti-LGBTQ laws and policies impacting public education.

Jeffrey A. Dodge, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Assistant Professor of Law, and Joseph H. Goldstein Faculty Scholar at Penn State Dickinson Law, has spent nearly 20 years in legal education. Dean Dodge has broad experience overseeing law school and University-level offices of student services, international programs, admissions, academic success, career services, and more. He has taught and presented on topics in the fields of family law, education law, international human rights, and LGBTQ+ inequality. His scholarship focuses on the intersection of educational access and minoritized communities. Dean Dodge is past chair of the Association of American Law Schools Student Services, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues, and International Legal Exchange sections. He has served on the national diversity committee of the Law School Admission Council, as an American Bar Association accreditation site evaluator, and as a three-time director of the CLEO Pre-Law Summer Institute.