Pennsbury School District Must Pay $300K For 'Silencing Critics': Suit

FAIRLESS HILL, PA — In a major victory for free speech advocates which emerged from the national turmoil of school board meetings in 2021, a Bucks County school district must pay $300,000 in fines and damages.

The Pennsbury School District preemptively shut down public comment time during a meeting in May 2021 addressing district policy relating to diversity and inclusion, the suit states. Pennsbury school officials shouted down individuals who objected to the policies, which they believed were an example of Critical Race Theory, the lawsuit states. At one point a school solicitor yelled “you’re done."

“School boards across the country should take note. Rules for public comments must respect the First Amendment rights of speakers," Alan Gura, Vice President for Litigation at the Institute for Free Speech, which advocated for the residents, said in a statement. "If you are limiting which opinions may be shared, you’ll be held liable for violating First Amendment rights."

The meeting in question was but one of dozens in the local area which devolved into chaos, as mania over Critical Race Theory and response to the pandemic gripped the countryside. Police were called to similar meetings at North Penn, Central Bucks, and elsewhere, as tensions reached a fever pitch. It prompted security concerns for future meetings, and the contentious and possibly violent nature of some attendees as meetings even factored into Gov. Tom Wolf's decision to enforce the school mask mandate at the state level.

Pennsbury's $300,000 fine will be allocated chiefly to attorney's fees and "nominal" damages, but advocates see the victory as symbolic.

“Rules for public comment periods are meant to maintain time limits and protect each speaker’s right to be heard, not police which viewpoints are expressed," Del Kolde, Senior Attorney at the Institute for Free Speech, said in a statement. "Pennsbury’s rules were so vague and subjective that the board could effectively shut down any speech they didn’t like, and that’s exactly what they did."

Judges previously ruled that Pennsbury was not legally allowed to stop public comments with which they disagreed.

Each of the four plaintiffs received a payment of $17.91 as part of the settlement. The Institute said this number was chosen because the First Amendment was ratified in 1791.