Reining In The Regulators

Teaching is speech, and speech is protected by the First Amendment. As longtime readers will know, that’s a principle that IJ has fought to vindicate across the country. We vindicated that principle in California when we took on a law that would have prevented a horseshoeing school from teaching to willing students. And we recently vindicated it again in Minnesota, where we took on the Minnesota Office of Higher Education on behalf of our client Leda Mox, who teaches classes on horse massage.

In April, we opened the next chapter—this time in Wisconsin. We launched a lawsuit in federal court to challenge the state’s “Educational Approval Program” on First Amendment grounds. 

Jim Masterson has developed a signature method of animal care. Jim has been working with horses for decades, and he refined his method in the results-driven world of equestrian competition. Jim’s method has caught on in the horse world: He’s accompanied the endurance athletes of the U.S. Equestrian team to multiple international competitions. He’s published books explaining his method—which he is often asked to autograph at horse expos—and his work is the subject of an award-winning documentary.

 Jim has been teaching his method since the mid-2000s. In that time, thousands of students across the country—and indeed, across the world—have taken courses on the “Masterson Method.” 

As the years have gone by and Jim’s school has expanded, Jim has selected instructors to help teach his method. One of those instructors is Becky Tenges, whom Jim hand-picked for her aptitude in his signature method. Becky has been around horses since she was a kid. After a high-powered career in business, she returned to the animals that she has always loved. 

Becky taught the Masterson Method in Wisconsin for years. Things changed in 2023. 

That’s when the regulators came knocking. They demanded that there be no teaching—or even advertising—of courses offered by Jim’s school unless the school went through Wisconsin’s Educational Approval Program. 

The Educational Approval Program is burdensome beyond belief. There are pure financial costs, like the hefty fees that Jim would have to pay. But it goes much further than that. Jim would have to overhaul the policies and contracts that he uses. He’d have to engage in bureaucratic strategic planning exercises—five-year visions and “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats” analyses. The qualifications of his instructors, and even the very content of his courses, would be subject to the upvote or downvote of bureaucrats in Madison. And even if Jim’s school got initial approval, it only lasts for one year. There are ongoing requirements. All under threat of steep financial penalties or even imprisonment. 

This is all incredibly burdensome. And it’s incredibly unnecessary. That’s a fatal combination of unconstitutionality. So we’re suing on behalf of Jim and Becky to rein in the regulators. Wisconsin will learn the lesson we taught California and Minnesota: Teaching is speech, and speech is protected by the First Amendment.

Prashanta Augustine is an IJ attorney.