The ACLU of Pennsylvania and the law firm Ramsingh Legal, PLLC filed a lawsuit against the Souderton Area School District regarding the district's ban of two parents and one former student from school property as retaliation for criticisms leveled at a school board member who posted lewd comments about Vice President Kamala Harris online.
The comments by Souderton school board member Bill Formica sparked outrage among many district residents in August, leading to a packed middle school auditorium and a protest calling for Formica’s resignation.
District officials told protesters they could not hold their demonstration on school property and instead had to stand on the side of the road. Meanwhile, the district allowed Formica’s supporters to gather near the school entrance, where they prayed and sang religious songs.
Although attendance at the September school board meeting remained high, the district moved the meeting back to its regular location, which holds far fewer people. As a result, the district required individuals wishing to attend to present photo identification. Two of the plaintiffs were not allowed into the meeting because they did not have ID with them.
One of the plaintiffs not admitted to the meeting, along with her father and another parent of a student in the district, confronted school board member Kim Wheeler in the parking lot after the meeting, asking why the board allowed Formica to continue serving given his offensive comments. Two weeks later, they received letters from the district’s solicitor, threatening them with arrest for trespassing if they entered school property and requiring them to provide advance notice and remain in their vehicles when they drop off or pick up their children from school.
The lawsuit claims that, in addition to banning individuals from school property, Souderton Area School District prohibited members of the community group Souderton Area for All from holding demonstrations on school property and required individuals to show photo identification to be admitted to school board meetings, in violation of the First Amendment.
The lawsuit also asks the court to immediately order the school district to rescind the ban on the parents and former student and allow them to attend school board meetings and other events on school property and to permit SAFA to hold demonstrations on school property prior to school board meetings.
