IFI files amicus brief in support of pro-life club
6/24/24
Freedom of speech is a key right that is fundamental to the American experiment, but it is under deep scrutiny and even attack these days. One recent example of that is a local Indiana high school shutting down a pro-life club for being too “political.” One member of that club, E.D., went on to file a lawsuit against Noblesville High School for derecognizing the Students for Life club solely because of the pro-life messages on the group’s flyers.
The federal district court, unfortunately, ruled against E.D., and her attorneys filed an appeal with the 7th Circuit. Indiana Family Institute’s General Counsel Josh Hershberger filed an amicus brief in support of E.D. last week on behalf of Students for Life of America (SFLA), Young America’s Foundation (YAF), and IFI.
“Schools are the nurseries of democracy, and Noblesville High School should have encouraged this student in her exercise of her First Amendment rights,” Hershberger noted. “Instead, the school prohibited her from expressing a pro-life view while recognizing 70 other student clubs. The federal district court’s decision in this case should be reversed to protect student speech on school campuses across Indiana.”
Click here to hear Josh talk in depth about the amicus brief and the free speech violations SFLA and YAF have experienced around the country.
“The task of administering a school with 3,200 students certainly comes with complexities, but respecting basic First Amendment rights is not one of them. As the Supreme Court set out in Tinker, students do not ‘…shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.’ And schools may not discriminate based on the viewpoint of student organizations or enforce prior restraints using nebulous categories such as ‘political’ or ‘appropriate.’ Instead of reinforcing basic constitutional protections, the district court excused Noblesville Schools from liability and encouraged future constitutional violations,” the brief reads. (emphasis added)
This case is important to IFI and offers an opportunity to continue our work in holding public school administrators accountable and strengthening constitutional protections for students.
“IFI is especially concerned by the district court’s decision due to repeated instances of school officials in Indiana ignoring the constitutional rights of parents and students,” IFI Executive Director Ryan McCann said. “IFI has worked tirelessly to pass corrective legislation over the last few years and will continue to advocate for these constitutional protections at the statehouse and around the state in local school districts.”
Please continue supporting IFI in our efforts to protect Biblical values and constitutional freedoms in our schools, communities, and state. Taking part in these important cases is only possible through the funding our generous donors provide.