In another setback for the left, a federal judge in Maine has ruled in favor of parents who were concerned about administrator-approved explicit material in schools.
The ruling also quashes administrator’s efforts to silence what turned out to be a vocal majority — parents who disagreed with progressive policies and attempts to introduce “sexualized material into the school.”
The Conservative Brief noted that the controversy began when Shawn McBreairty voiced his opposition to liberal policies and library books, which he argued “contained pornography and promoted transgenderism.”
McBreairty voiced his opinions during regional school board meetings in Hampden. The board responded by barring McBreairty from school property and meetings, claiming his opposition represented “vulgar” speech, which is not permitted at board meetings.
McBreairty filed a formal grievance, which eventually made its way to Maine’s U.S. District Court.
According to The Washington Free Beacon:
“The U.S. District Court for Maine issued an … order allowing Shawn McBreairty back on school property after the father filed a lawsuit claiming the ban violated his constitutional rights. The court ruled that the First Amendment protects McBreairty’s comments at board meetings, where he has spoken out against sexualized school library books.”
In a victory for parents, the Free Beacon also reported that the court “determined that the school board selectively applied its speech policy, which prohibits ‘vulgarity,’ against McBreairty.”
District Judge Nancy Torresen wrote: “Here, it is hard to shake the sense that the School Board is restricting the speech because the Board disagrees with both Mr. McBreairty’s opinions and the unpleasantness that accompanies them.”
Marc Randazza, a First Amendment lawyer representing McBreairty, told the Free Beacon, “While the Maine father can return to school board meetings, other parents could still run afoul of the school board’s vague speech policies, which prohibit ‘vulgarity,’ ‘gossip,’ and ‘irrelevance.’
Randazza argues that the court should rule that the speech policy is unconstitutional:
“There’s a policy against criticizing any school employees or officials,” Randazza said. “Now you can go there and say nice things about him, but you can’t criticize him. Tell me how in the heck that passes the First Amendment muster.”
According to the Free Beacon, Randazza “cited a similar case where residents sued the Pennsbury School District in Pennsylvania for violating their First Amendment rights and settled for $300,000.”
McBreairty encourages parents “across the country” to speak out against “sexualized curricula.”
“I’m trying to be the tip of the sword for people in Maine because cancel culture is so venomous here,” McBreairty said. “It’s time that students, parents, taxpayers, and teachers start to find their own voice.”
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