On August 14, a federal appeals court ruled against a pro-life student who argued that an Indiana school district violated her First Amendment rights when it suspended her Students for Life club and disallowed flyers featuring photos of signs stating, “Defund Planned Parenthood.”
Key Takeaways:
- In 2021, Noblesville High School allowed a student known as E.D. to create a pro-life student-led club.
- E.D. created flyers that included images of people holding pro-life signs, and the school asked her to remove the images and only put information about time and place on the flyers.
- E.D. filed a lawsuit, and an appeals court ruled in favor of the school district.
The Details:
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous decision from a lower court last Thursday that ruled in favor of Noblesville High School staff, who said they suspended the pro-life club for posting non-content-neutral wording and for allegedly being led by a parent rather than a student.
“The record shows that school officials approved [the pro-life] club, reasonably accommodated her speech, and suspended the club only for neutral, conduct-related reasons,” wrote Judge Nancy Maldonado.
Marnie Cooke, a spokesperson for the school district, told The Christian Post that the school supports students in “forming clubs they’re passionate about” and has allowed for dozens of student-led clubs on campus that “represent a wide range of interests, activities, and beliefs — including a Students for Life club.”
The school said the pro-life club could only post the time and place details for meetings on flyers on school walls. The appeals court stated that this rule stems from a U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows school administrators to regulate any messages that might be seen as coming from the school itself.
The Backstory:
According to The Christian Post, E.D., was given permission to start a Students for Life of America chapter at Noblesville High School in 2021. When advertising for the first meeting, E.D. created a flyer that included photos of people holding pro-life signs from Students for Life of America, such as “Defund Planned Parenthood” and “I Am the Pro-Life Generation.”
School staff told E.D. that she would need to remove the photos from the flyer and only include information about the meeting before posting the flyers on school walls.
Images of E.D.’s student group flyer via E.D. v. Noblesville School District.
E.D. later scheduled a meeting with the Dean of Students, Jeremy Luna. Her mother, Lisa Duell, attended that meeting with her. Luna told the school principal, Craig McCaffrey, that he thought Duell led the conversation, and the principal later suspended the group because of an “attempt at insubordination led by an outside adult advocating with the student.”
He said E.D. could reapply to start the club in January 2022. She did, and the club was reinstated.
E.D. filed a lawsuit claiming that the school had violated her First Amendment rights. The suit includes claims against school employees who allegedly posted defamatory statements about E.D. online. The school agreed to allow the club to continue as the lawsuit progressed.
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