The court entered judgment today on this in Schmidt v. Falcon School Dist. 49; here's an excerpt from the Mar. 21, 2025 opinion by Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell (D. Colo.) explaining the issues:
On November 10, 2022, the [School District Board of Education] conducted a special meeting to consider a proposed resolution concerning an outspoken member of the Board, Ivy Liu. During that meeting, certain attendees held signs calling on Ms. Liu to resign. Others in attendance displayed signs that had "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" symbols displayed.
Apparently, the chaotic nature of the November 10, 2022, special meeting prompted the [Board] to "reevaluat[e] standards of appropriate decorum at Board meetings." This re-evaluation led to what the Court will refer to as District 49's "Sign Policy." The Sign Policy prohibits District 49 meeting attendees from holding signs with specific written language on them—such as text calling for a Board member to resign. The Sign Policy allows for other expressive conduct, including thumbs up/thumbs down signs, jazz hands, and standing. Defendants say they began enforcing this policy during the November 10, 2022, regular meeting which immediately followed the same-day special meeting regarding Ms. Liu.
The Board conducted another meeting on February 22, 2023. For at least some portion of the meeting, Plaintiffs, sitting in the front row, held 8½ x 11" letter-sized signs at chest level. These signs called for the resignation of Defendant Graham [the School Board president], as well as fellow Board members, Lori Thompson and Rick Van Wieren. Nearly 2 hours and 45 minutes into the February 22, 2023, meeting, a disagreement arose between Ms. Liu and Defendant Graham. Nearly 2 hours and 50 minutes into the meeting, Defendant Graham halted the meeting and demanded that Plaintiffs not display their signs. Approximately a minute later, Defendant Graham again paused the meeting and declared the Board was going into recess to address Plaintiffs' signs.
