The First Amendment Clinic, directed by Professor Lisa Hoppenjans, obtained significant changes to protect public commenters at school board meetings. Chester Asher was banned from all St. Louis Public Schools property for six months after he attempted to address a panelist at a public event about charter schools. Bill Monroe was also banned from district property for six months based on alleged violations of the board’s public comment policies. The bans prevented both clients from attending school board meetings, where they had frequently participated in the public comment period to criticize district leadership for what they viewed as failures to serve the needs of students. Mr. Monroe, who was running for a seat on the board, was also prevented from participating in candidate forums held on school property.
The clinic filed lawsuits challenging each client’s ban and challenging the board’s unconstitutional policies that prohibited comments and language critical of the district while allowing comments complimentary of the district. The lawsuits alleged that the policies were viewpoint discriminatory in violation of the First Amendment and unconstitutionally vague. The lawsuits also alleged that by banning Mr. Asher and Mr. Monroe without giving them any opportunity to appeal the ban, the district violated their First Amendment rights to participate in a public forum and their rights to due process.
In February, the parties reached an agreement to settle both lawsuits under which the district agreed to significant changes, including eliminating rules that required commenters to use only respectful language and that prohibited them from speaking “derogatorily” about anyone. The district also adopted new policies strictly limited the district’s ability to ban individuals from public meetings and creating a process by which individuals restricted from accessing property could appeal their bans.
Mr. Asher explained that the “settlement confirms what parents and community members have always known — their voices matter. Public schools are meant to serve children and families. That means leaders must allow open and lawful public input, even when the feedback is tough.”
