"On August 29th,  general counsel Anne Coorssen modestly notified the Board that the public expression policy would be "revised".

 

She omitted critical facts and the reason for this sense of urgency.

 

In her words a revision was needed to "clean up some language which was kind of outdated" without mention of the real reason for the suggested policy change.

   

So let’s just get down to it.

 

At the request of multiple concerned parents the public expression policy was reviewed by Jennifer Kinsley, a courtroom powerhouse and expert U.S. Constitutional lawyer. Kinsley determined that the public expression policy is outdated and downright unconstitutional.

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On August 10 a letter was sent from Ms. Kinsley to Ms. Coorssen. It’s an easy read and I encourage you and even your kids to read it together as it is a great lesson in civics.

 

This letter can be viewed in its entirety at oldhamfirstamendment.com

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Is the General Counsel for the School Board standing on her personal opinions here?

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This appears to be the case given Ms. Coorssen's email exchange with all those parents including myself. Ms. Coorssen stood strong, arguing, defending and advocating for what appears to be an illegal policy.

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The policy and  statements made by Ms. Coorssen to parents sought to:

 

1. Limit criticism of individual elected public officials

2. Silence or censor viewpoints that you all don't like

3. Discontinue comments or turn off microphones of speakers at the Board's discretion

4. Limit speech or viewpoints which interfere with the operation of the meeting

5. Attempt to ban speakers from future meetings

6. Exclude citizens from school board meetings

 

My attempt to summarize your rights based on the letter is as follows:

 

Everyone here and watching this right now at home has more power than you realize.

 

• You absolutely have the right to be here

• You absolutely have the right to directly criticize anyone on this stage

• You cannot be silenced

• They cannot prevent your attendance from meetings 

• They cannot escort you out based on your attitude, your viewpoint, or your speech alone

• Violators of these rights can and have been sued

 

How serious is this illegal policy?

 

Earlier this month a fellow parent and citizen of Oldham County filed a lawsuit against the Board.

 

Ms. Coorssen may not believe in transparency but I do. We do. The parents do. The harm caused to our friends and neighbors brought on by this Board needs to be brought to light. Transparency is critical regarding your rights at school board meetings.

 

Regardless on if we agree or disagree on a subject or policy EVERYONE at these meetings has the first amendment right to be heard UNCENSORED and Ms. Coorssen... nor Joyce Fletcher... nor anyone else on this Board or in this room can silence you."

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-Abbie Springer, Parent