From Livingston Parish School Bd. v. Kellett, decided Thursday by the Louisiana Court of Appeal (Judge Allison Penzato, joined by Judges Duke Welch & Walter Lanier):
[T]he School Board discovered that Ms. Kellett, the mother of a child attending Live Oak Elementary School, "repeatedly concealed" electronic devices in her child's clothing or personal belongings in November 2019. Ms. Kellett purportedly used these devices to "intercept communications by and between faculty, students, and others in the school and/or classroom during school hours and while on school property." One such device, an AngelSense, had GPS capability to track the child's whereabouts and also allowed verbal communications between Ms. Kellett and her child. The School Board obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO) on January 27, 2020, then a preliminary injunction on April 8, 2020, prohibiting Ms. Kellett's use of these devices on school property.
The School Board also accused Ms. Kellett of being critical of the School Board and publicly discussing "her child's special needs" and individual education plan with the media. Ms. Kellett allegedly maintained a "live web blog and other ongoing social media posts" that involved discussion and disclosure of information related to the School Board, the special education program, and other identified individuals. According to the School Board, these posts have "caused concern for parents of other [Livingston Parish School System] students and have defamed and slandered the reputations of [the School Board] and Live Oak Elementary staff." The January 27, 2020 TRO and April 8, 2020 preliminary injunction addressed this additional complaint by the School Board. Pertinently, the April 8, 2020 preliminary injunction enjoined, restrained, and prohibited Ms. Kellett from:
… d) … engaging in any form of written, verbal, or physical displays of hostility, anger, or disparagement, and/or from making threats of any physical assault, and/or any disorderly conduct that results in fear or disruption of activities through hostile and inappropriate behavior toward any LPSB [Livingston Parish School Board] member, administrator, faculty or staff at Live Oak Elementary School and/or on any LPSS [Livingston Parish School System] public school bus or other school property, and/or while participating in any educational or other school related business or function, including but in no way limited to any Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Individual Health Plan (IHP) meetings or evaluations required to facilitate the minor child's special education and health care needs;
f) … making or publishing and/or from engaging in any activity to make, disseminate, publish or broadcast defamatory, slanderous, libelous, frivolous and/or fraudulent claims or statements concerning [the School Board], its faculty, staff and employees, as defined by R.S. 14:47-48, 13:3381(B), directly or by her enlisting the assistance of any other person(s) on her behalf ….
