KANSAS CITY — Kearney School District has agreed to assure the public that it will not restrict access to its social media accounts based on viewpoint, and to begin developing a First Amendment policy and training staff who manage the accounts, according to the Liberty Justice Center.
The commitments followed a demand letter from the legal organization on behalf of Annie Palmer, a district parent and former district educator.
Palmer was blocked from the district’s official Facebook page after reacting with a thumbs-down and commenting on an April 16 post announcing the hiring of a new school principal, the center said.
The district deleted Palmer’s comments and blocked her access without notice or an explanation, according to the organization.
Public records Palmer obtained indicated that the restriction was not based on a district policy, but was imposed because the newly hired principal was “upset” by her reaction.
The Liberty Justice Center, which represents Palmer through its PARENTS Initiative, sent a letter to Superintendent Dr. Emily Miller on Oct. 7.
The letter argued that government officials cannot restrict access to official social media accounts because they disagree with a person’s viewpoint.
It said Palmer’s reaction expressed an opinion and that an employee’s personal offense did not justify barring her from a government-operated page.
The letter also challenged the district’s lack of a written policy protecting the public’s First Amendment rights on its social media accounts.
It warned that failure to address the alleged violations could lead to a federal civil rights lawsuit.
In response, the district agreed to provide written assurance that Palmer and other members of the public would not be restricted from district social media accounts because of their viewpoint or protected expression.
It also agreed to begin the process of adopting a written policy acknowledging the public’s First Amendment rights and to begin training staff responsible for the accounts.
Timothy R. Snowball, senior counsel for the Liberty Justice Center’s PARENTS Initiative, said the district’s response addressed a case in which a parent was restricted because a school employee disliked her opinion.
“There is no ‘hurt feelings’ exception to the First Amendment,” Snowball said in a statement.
He called the district’s compliance a victory for Palmer and other parents and community members, and said the center was prepared to challenge unconstitutional government actions affecting parents.
Palmer is the mother of a student currently enrolled in Kearney School District and previously worked as an educator in the district for 10 years, the organization said.
The center described the Kearney matter as part of its broader work on parental rights.
It said that this year it sent letters to the attorneys general of five states warning of potential legal consequences if they failed to address alleged federal law violations by school districts whose policies conceal students’ gender transitions from their parents.
The organization also said it is involved in ongoing litigation in Portland, Ore., involving a mother who was trespassed from her son’s public school after speaking out against gender-related school policies.
The center said it had secured free speech and parental rights victories for that mother and continues to pursue the case.
The Kearney dispute centered on access to the district’s Facebook page and the steps the district agreed to take after the legal center’s letter.
