A federal lawsuit against the Woodland Park School District and Board of Education said its recently adopted policies silenced teachers, violating their First Amendment rights.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday by the Colorado Education Association, a state-wide labor union representing more than 39,000 educators, including in the Woodland Park School District. They said the lawsuit is to “remedy violations of the constitutional rights” of Woodland Park School District teachers.
— Read on krdo.com/news/2023/08/11/woodland-park-school-district-board-of-education-sued-for-violating-teachers-right-to-free-speech/
Tag Archives: free speech
Woodland Park school board has ‘chilled’ free speech and violated open meetings law, according to Colorado teachers union lawsuit | Colorado Public Radio
Colorado’s largest teachers union and its local affiliate have filed a federal lawsuit against the Woodland Park School District and the district’s board of education.
The lawsuit alleges the district and board have “chilled” teachers’ First Amendment rights to free speech and free association and violated state open meetings laws when it revised a district policy and effectively instituted a gag order against teachers.
— Read on www.cpr.org/2023/08/11/woodland-park-school-district-teachers-union-lawsuit/
UPDATE: ACLU sues Woodland Park School Board on behalf of citizen banned from meetings, property | News | csindy.com
One day after the ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit against the Woodland Park School District (WPSD) for violating the constitutional rights of Logan Ruths, a vocal critic of the district, the district lifted its “unlawful banishment order” it imposed on Ruths for speaking out at a public meeting, the ACLU announced in a release today, Aug. 7.
— Read on www.csindy.com/content/tncms/live/
Statement Regarding Woodland Park School District Rescinding its Unconstitutional Banishment Order Against Vocal Critic of the District | ACLU Colorado
After the ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit against the Woodland Park School District (WPSD) for violating the constitutional rights of Logan Ruths, a vocal critic of the district, WPSD responded by lifting the unlawful banishment order…
— Read on www.aclu-co.org/en/news/statement-regarding-woodland-park-school-district-rescinding-its-unconstitutional-banishment
Woodland Park School District lifts ban against former employee, but ACLU will continue its lawsuit – Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition
A former Woodland Park School District employee who was banned from all district property and events after being kicked out of a June 14 school board meeting is now allowed to return to school grounds, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado said.
— Read on coloradofoic.org/news/woodland-park-school-district-lifts-ban-against-former-employee-but-aclu-will-continue-its-lawsuit/
Woodland Park School District reverses ban on former employee following lawsuit | FOX21 News Colorado
Less than 24 hours after Woodland Park School District found itself involved in a lawsuit with a former employee who alleged his First Amendment rights had been trampled upon, they unbanned him from school property.
— Read on www.fox21news.com/top-stories/woodland-park-school-district-reverses-ban-on-former-employee-post-lawsuit/
ACLU rescinds lawsuit against the Woodland Park School District | KRDO
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado pulled back on a lawsuit against Woodland Park School District for a “no trespassing” order the district issued against a man during a school board meeting.
— Read on krdo.com/news/2023/08/07/aclu-rescinds-lawsuit-against-the-woodland-school-district/
Colorado school district removes ban against former employee
A former Woodland Park School District employee who was banned from all district property and events after being kicked out of a June 14 school board meeting is now allowed to return to school grounds, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado said Monday.
— Read on coloradosun.com/2023/08/07/woodland-park-school-district-removes-ban-logan-ruths/
More on the ACLU lawsuit against the district
As previously reported here, the ACLU has filed suit against the district on behalf of former employee Logan Ruths, regarding his one year banishment from district property. This story has been covered by NBC, the Colorado Sun, the Colorado Springs Indy, KOAA, and the Gazette (and given that media focus, I suspect I missed some!).
Court papers were served to the district Friday, and also Friday board president Rusterholtz announced he’d like to retract the ban against Ruths. Right now, that action is pending review by board attorney Brad Miller and feedback from the other board members.
Here’s KOAA’s news coverage of this case (see story here):
You can watch the board meeting that promoted this action below, timestamp 16:10 is about where this all started:
ACLU sues Woodland Park School Board on behalf of citizen banned from meetings, property | News | csindy.com
Woodland Park School District, its board of education and Superintendent Ken Witt face a federal lawsuit filed Aug. 3 by a district patron who alleges they violated his First Amendment right by banning him from the district for more than a year, after he made a sarcastic remark at a board meeting.
— Read on www.csindy.com/content/tncms/live/