The ACLU of Colorado, representing C.C., a student at Elizabeth High School, E.S., a student in the Elizabeth School District (ESD), the NAACP – Colorado – Montana – Wyoming State Area Conference (NAACP), and the Authors Guild, sued the Elizabeth School District for removing books
— Read on www.aclu-co.org/en/press-releases/aclu-colorado-sues-elizabeth-school-district-over-book-bans
Tag Archives: lawsuit
Derrick Wilburn files lawsuit against Academy D-20 parent | Courts | gazette.com
Academy District 20 school board member Derrick Wilburn has filed a lawsuit alleging that district parent, Bernadette Guthrie, has waged a public, multi-pronged smear campaign against him for almost a year.
— Read on gazette.com/news/courts/colorado-springs-school-board-member-files-lawsuit-against-district-parent/article_36b89a80-be28-11ef-825e-2b48ed47cef0.html
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Note, a GoFundMe has been set up to help with the legal defense costs for this parent. The prosecuting attorney bringing this case against this parent is David Illingworth, the Woodland Park school board member soundly defeated by Keegan Barkley in the last election. The D20 board president is Aaron Salt, who you’ll recognize as Ken Witt’s right-hand man in WPSD.
CFOIC brief: Eliminating penalties for ‘cured’ violations ‘eviscerates’ enforcement of open meetings law – Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition
The Colorado Supreme Court is reviewing whether the Court of Appeals in 2023 incorrectly rejected the awarding of attorney fees to plaintiff Erin O’Connell, who successfully challenged the Woodland Park school board — at least initially — over a meeting-notice violation that the board “effectively cured” at a subsequent meeting.
— Read on coloradofoic.org/cfoic-brief-eliminating-penalties-for-cured-violations-eviscerates-enforcement-of-open-meetings-law/
Colorado Supreme Court will review judicially created doctrine that lets public bodies ‘cure’ open meetings law violations – Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition
The “cure” case concerns a 2022 open meetings law violation by the Woodland Park school board, which considered a memorandum of understanding with a charter school under a vague “BOARD HOUSEKEEPING” agenda item.
A district court judge initially granted a preliminary injunction, ordering the board to “clearly, honestly and forthrightly” list future agenda items pertaining to the charter school. But the judge and the Court of Appeals later rejected plaintiff Erin O’Connell’s argument for the awarding of attorney fees because the board “effectively cured the prior violation” by discussing and voting on the MOU at a subsequent public meeting.
— Read on coloradofoic.org/colorado-supreme-court-will-review-judicially-created-doctrine-that-lets-public-bodies-cure-open-meetings-law-violations/
Colorado Supreme Court will review judicially created doctrine that lets public bodies ‘cure’ open meetings law violations – Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition
A district court judge initially granted a preliminary injunction, ordering the board to “clearly, honestly and forthrightly” list future agenda items pertaining to the charter school. But the judge and the Court of Appeals later rejected plaintiff Erin O’Connell’s argument for the awarding of attorney fees because the board “effectively cured the prior violation” by discussing and voting on the MOU at a subsequent public meeting.
— Read on coloradofoic.org/colorado-supreme-court-will-review-judicially-created-doctrine-that-lets-public-bodies-cure-open-meetings-law-violations/
Court of Appeals affirms judge’s order requiring release of Woodland Park School District security footage – Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition
The state’s second-highest court Thursday affirmed a judge’s order to disclose video surveillance footage showing three Woodland Park school board members talking with a candidate for superintendent after a public meeting in December 2022.
— Read on coloradofoic.org/court-of-appeals-affirms-judges-order-requiring-release-of-woodland-park-school-district-security-footage/
Woodland Park school board, union reach agreement on controversial policy | Education | gazette.com
“The new Woodland Park School Board Policy KDDA no longer violates teachers’ First Amendment constitutional rights to free speech,” Nate Owen, president of the Woodland Park Education Association, said in a press release. “Not only does this restore the First Amendment rights of educators, but it ensures a clear path for educator voices now and into the future.”
— Read on gazette.com/content/tncms/live/
Woodland Park School District drops unconstitutional gag order, union says
The Woodland Park School District has removed and replaced a school board policy that the local teachers union called unconstitutional because it prohibited educators from speaking to the press or posting on social media about district decisions without consent, the Woodland Park Education Association announced this week.
The teachers union sued the district and its Board of Education in federal court over the summer, alleging employees’ First Amendment rights were violated by the policy. The decision to replace the policy with a new one, which the union says “protects the First Amendment rights of educators,” was made during federal court mediation, according to a news release.
— Read on www.denverpost.com/2023/11/02/woodland-park-teachers-union-lawsuit-agreement/
District revises policy KDDA in response to WPEA lawsuit
After being steered towards mediation by a judge overseeing the lawsuit between the WPEA and the WPSD (the judge said that portions of the policy “do have problems”, policy KDDA has been revised, and you can read the full document here. This revised policy no longer takes away teachers’ right to talk to the press about district decisions (read more about the previous policy here). It’s sad it took a lawsuit to get the district to respect their First Amendment rights to free speech, but at least in the end, those rights were preserved.
Woodland Park School District teachers celebrate free speech policy change
Woodland Park School District teachers celebrate free speech policy change. Teachers say they can speak freely without fear of punishment.
— Read on www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/im-a-little-less-afraid-woodland-park-school-district-teachers-celebrate-free-speech-policy-change
You really MUST watch the video in that story linked above. At 1:10, the reporter asks superintendent Ken Witt a question and his answer – or lack thereof – is so incredibly creepy and unprofessional.