In a resounding win for a student’s club at Shelby High School, the Cleveland County Schools Board of Education has reached a settlement in a lawsuit, M.K. v. Fisher, which alleged the school had violated students’ First Amendment rights.
As previously covered by QNotes, a student club at Shelby High school had been banned by the board from playing a text-only quiz game highlighting LGBTQ+ people who have made significant contributions to American society, deeming the activity “indecent.” The case had been taken up by The ACLU of North Carolina and Charles Johnson of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, PA, resulting in a lawsuit being filed this past February.
The club at Shelby High School was student-founded and previously discussed topics not covered in school curriculum, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, the war in Gaza, Women’s History Month, suicide prevention and breast cancer awareness.
Reacting to the “indecent” label given by the plaintiff, only referred to as “M.K.” in the court filings, the lawsuit claims that the game that the club had originally set up did not include any depictions of sex, violence, illegal drug use or any other inappropriate content. Instead, it “asks students to identify people like Harvey Milk, Lady Gaga and Ellen DeGeneres, as well as pieces of popular media that feature LGBTQ+ characters or actors,” according to the lawsuit.
Under the terms of the settlement, the student group will be allowed to play the game with students who return a parental permission slip. The settlement also requires the board to publish a statement affirming students’ First Amendment rights and to apologize for having previously denied the plaintiff’s requests. Specifically, the Board recognized “that student speech plays an essential role in fostering a vibrant, respectful, and inclusive educational environment,” and apologized for “the delay in allowing this student to exercise her constitutional rights.”
“We are glad to have achieved such a positive outcome for the plaintiff and all students at Shelby High School, who can now exercise their First Amendment rights without fear of censorship,” said Ivy Johnson, staff attorney for the ACLU of North Carolina.
“While LGBTQ+ students are being targeted by politicians and facing discriminatory policies, M.K. made an effort to uplift and celebrate the contributions of LGBTQ+ people to our society. This settlement is a victory for free speech at a time when student speech in particular has been under attack.”