Federal judge bars Eastern KY school district from enforcing a ban against a parent
A federal judge on Thursday ruled the Jenkins Independent School district cannot ban a Letcher County parent from school property and activities while a lawsuit she filed against the district is pending.
The judge granted a motion from the ACLU of Kentucky requesting a preliminary injunction, preventing Jenkins Independent School District from banning the parent from school property or from attending district activities.
In December, Elizabeth Jones, who has two children attending school in the Jenkins Independent School District, was served with a letter from the district’s attorney that announced she was banned.
The reason given in the letter, which was hand-delivered to her home by a school resource officer, was “your multiple posts on social media of students participating (in) extracurricular activities which appear to be harassment and which have caused disruptions of the educational process.”
The letter stated that if Jones was caught on school property or at a district-sponsored activity, she would be removed by law enforcement, and the district said it would file charges for trespassing.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit earlier this year saying the district retaliated against Jones for constitutionally protected speech and violated her rights under the First Amendment.
Thursday’s preliminary injunction does not resolve the entire lawsuit, but it prevents the district from enforcing the ban while the court considers the remaining claims, the ACLU said in its news release.
“School districts enjoy latitude in controlling access to their physical facilities. But as state actors, they cannot retaliate against a parent on the basis of that parent’s social media posts which are not threatening, obscene, or defamatory. Because Jones has plausibly shown that she is likely to succeed on the merits of her First Amendment retaliation claim, the Court will grant the preliminary injunction sought,” said the July 16 order from U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove.
According to court filings, an ACLU news release said, the district did not identify which posts led to the ban when it was issued and did not accuse Jones of making threats or engaging in violence.
“Jones regularly attended her children’s sporting events and school activities for years without causing disruptions or violating school rules. The social media posts later identified by the district included jokes, commentary, and photographs at public school sporting events,’ the ACLU news release said.
Jenkins Independent school officials said they are complying with the order filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
“The District has received the Court’s order and is complying with it,” Jenkins Independent Superintendent Damian Johnson told the Herald-Leader Thursday afternoon. “Because this litigation remains pending, I am not able to comment on the Court’s ruling or the ongoing case.”
“This ruling affirms a basic constitutional principle: public officials cannot punish people simply because they dislike or take offense at protected speech,” Bethany Baxter, staff attorney for the ACLU of Kentucky, said in the news release. “Ms. Jones should never have been forced to choose between exercising her First Amendment rights and participating fully in her children’s lives. We are pleased the court has stopped the district from continuing to enforce this harmful and unconstitutional ban while the case moves forward.”
Jones has previously said she didn’t threaten or harass anyone.
“As a single mother, it is very painful to have to miss my kids’ activities,” Jones said in another news release in April. “I have not threatened or harassed anyone, especially any students, on my (podcast) channel, and there is no reason to keep me from attending school events like any other parent.”