Detroit Lakes High School
DETROIT LAKES, Minn. (KFGO) – ACLU Minnesota and Detroit Lakes parents sue the school district and four school board members who passed a ban on rainbow stickers and flags in classrooms.
The nonprofit and students L.S. and C.H. through their parents, Amber Estenson and Nicole Hadding, argue John Steffl, Sanford Nelson, Michelle Okeson and Michael Walther violated the first amendment rights of teachers and say the policy was passed after not being on the school board’s agenda giving the community no opportunity to object.
“We filed this lawsuit because the Rainbow Ban casts a pall over the entire Detroit Lakes School District, chilling speech in support of LGBTQ+ students and families, who deserve to be cared for, valued, and protected,” ACLU MN Deputy Legal Director Catherine Ahlin-Halverson said.
Some school board members say the policy is necessary because the district needs to be neutral on what could be seen as political statements.
Comments