Conservative legal group sues Maryland school board for violating free speech rights

America First Legal filed a lawsuit Monday against the school board for Montgomery County, Maryland, and the county’s superintendent, Monifa McKnight.

The lawsuit claims that the Board of Education deprived two citizens, Matthew Foldi and Bethany Mandel, of their rights to the First Amendment and the Maryland Open Meetings Act when they were denied access to a board meeting on June 27.

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“The rights of citizens to take part in the democratic process is paramount to the American system of government. Montgomery County School Board members, administrators, and staffers have decided that those rights are subsidiary to their ability to advocate for inappropriate instruction for children. That is because they know that active public participation will clearly demonstrate that the community does not support the radical agenda and actions that are being forced down the throats of parents,” Ian Prior, the organization’s senior adviser, said.

Prior continued, “If Montgomery County Public Schools wants to ignore the will of their constituents, they cannot do so under the cloak of darkness and the evisceration of the Constitution and the Maryland Open Meetings Act.”

The Montgomery County Board of Education has been met with numerous protests from parents opposed to a curriculum featuring over 22 LGBT-themed books but unable to opt their children out of the lessons.

The America First Legal lawsuit involves the June 27 school board meeting that only allowed invited attendees and preselected speakers to attend the open session portion of the meeting physically.

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The suit claims that the meeting prohibited the public at large, which excluded the participation of Foldi and Mandel and thereby violated their First Amendment rights and the Maryland Open Meetings Act.

Mandel is a county resident and parent of school-aged children. Foldi is a former 2022 Republican candidate in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, which includes Montgomery County.