Federal Court issues injunction: Ban was retaliatory
Updated: Northern District Federal Court, for a second time, found that the Owasso Public Schools violated the free speech of Tim Reiland, a parent banned in October for standing against pornographic content in his child’s public school library.
Parents have the right to direct their children’s education and upbringing under the Oklahoma Parents Bill of Rights Act. While fighting Mr. Reiland in Court, the School Board also voted to change school policy to screen books for sexual content – the point of his protest.
Legal Overwatch for Parents’ School Rights took on Mr. Reiland’s case because parents such as Mr. Reiland should not feel closed off from access to Courts to preserve their rights against tyrannical school boards and administrators because of the cost of litigation said Chief Counsel Maria Mercedes Seidler.
Tim Reiland, a parent with two children in Owasso Schools, was upset by the sexual content of a book his child brought home and for his aggressive advocacy against school libraries giving access to pornographic content to children, the Owasso School District banned him from school grounds and activities for six months, including driving his children to school. The Superintendent based her ban on his colorful remark about the Board’s actions made to a school board member and a reporter on October 10th.
Legal Overwatch filed in State Court to protect his First Amendment rights. The School Board believed they would do better in Federal Court and had the case transferred to Federal Court. They were wrong.
Chief Judge John Heil III of the Northern District of Oklahoma first issued a Temporary Restraining Order on November 1st against the School Board, citing the violation of Mr. Reiland’s free speech rights. In response to the Judge’s Order, the School Board held a special meeting on November 9th to fix their constitutional problem with the first ban.
In issuing its second Order, the Court called the Board’s actions for what it was: “a thinly veiled attempt to circumvent the Court’s TRO” and the Board’s ban a “pretext,” and other statements that amount to a rebuke of games played by the Owasso School Board. The Board had decided to base its case on the confrontation with a Tulsa World reporter for 17 seconds in the Board’s parking lot.
After a three-hour evidentiary hearing, Judge Heil gave short shrift to Owasso’s positions. While acknowledging schools’ obligations to prevent unsafe and harassing conduct, not at the expense of the Constitution, Judge Heil found that no such conduct in this case. On the stand, the Tulsa World reporter, Art Haddaway, indicated that he did not feel threatened or harassed by Mr. Reiland during the 17 second verbal-only exchange. The Court found that the exchange could hardly constitute harassment. Tulsa Today covered this story as the first ruling was issued by the court (click for more).
Legal Overwatch’s Chief Counsel, Maria Seidler stated “It was clear from the initial ban that the Owasso School Board violated Mr. Reiland’s First Amendment Rights. Without the ability to speak to school boards on the policies affecting their children’s school, parents cannot exercise their parental rights to direct their children’s education under the Oklahoma Parents’ Bill of Rights.
“Last night, Nov. 14th, the Owasso School Board approved a new book selection policy to ensure that books with sexual content are not in their school libraries. One has to question whether last night’s vote to approve the book selection policy advocated by Owasso parents is the direct result of Mr. Reiland’s courage to stand up and sue. Mr. Reiland is why I established Legal Overwatch. School boards have gone unchallenged too long. Its time parents, like Mr. Reiland, had a win, Seidler added.
Legal Overwatch attorneys work pro-bono, but there are court fees and costs with each case. A crowd funding campaign, GiveSendGo, for Mr. Reiland’s case will help defray costs.
Here is the Opinion and Order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.