From Johnson v. Knox County Bd. of Ed., decided Mar. 31 by Judge J. Ronnier Greer (E.D. Tenn.), but just recently posted on Westlaw; seems correct to me:
Plaintiffs allege the following facts: On the afternoon of March 31, 2022, Rebekiah Johnson, and her young adult son Shaque Johnson went to New Hopewell Elementary, where Brandon Pratt was the principal, "to bring attention to the racism within the schools and administration that the Johnsons had experienced through Principal Brandon Pratt." Shaque Johnson stood across the street from one of the parking lot exit/entrances holding a sign that stated, "Mr. Pratt was wrong. Read eagleswithcolor.com" on one side and "the TRUTH about Principal Pratt, eagleswithcolor.com" on the other side. Rebekiah Johnson walked along the street on the side of the school with her sign that read "Mr. Pratt is racist. eagleswithcolor.com" on one side, while the other side read, "The Community needs to know! eagleswithcolor.com." Rebekiah Johnson and her son were on the street, which is public property. As parents arrived to pick up their children, Rebekiah Johnson walked between the two exits/entrances holding her sign.
The SRO [School Resource Officer] approached Rebekiah Johnson and told her she needed to move across the street. Rebekiah Johnson told him that "she was on public property and had a right to stand where she was standing." The officer replied, "Yes … as long as you don't go behind the fence." At that time, Rebekiah Johnson was standing nearly thirty feet away from the fence. The SRO then walked away. Rebekiah Johnson continued walking along the street with her sign and only spoke with people who asked her a question. She did not impede traffic or create a disruption.
Meanwhile, Shaque Johnson stood silently across the street from the other exit of the school so parents could see his sign as they left the school parking lot. While he stood there, the SRO and another older white gentleman who was later identified as Fred Wade, a teaching assistant at New Hopewell Elementary School, walked along the school driveway and stood near the exit. Wade began addressing Shaque Johnson across the street. He seemed angry and the SRO was carrying a gun, so Shaque Johnson began recording the interaction on his phone. Wade yelled at him from across the street, stating that Shaque Johnson "could not be recording." Shaque Johnson told Wade he could record and Wade threatened to take Shaque Johnson's phone from him. When most of the cars had left the parking lot, Wade and the SRO walked away. "Once the school driveway was pretty much cleared out Rebekiah and Shaque Johnson decided to pack up their signs to leave."
On April 7, 2022, Rebekiah Johnson received a letter from Investigator Martin Timms. The letter stated, "It has come to the attention of the Knox County Schools Security Division that your recent protest at New Hopewell Elementary School has been inappropriate and disruptive. As a result of this behavior, you are being issued a civility code letter." The letter cited Knox County Board of Education Policy B-230 and stated, "Further violations in Knox County Schools Board Policy B-230 may result in you being banned from coming on to any property owned or controlled by Knox County Schools." Finally, the letter stated that Rebekiah Johnson needed to make herself aware of Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-14-405, 39-14-406, and 39-17-305." Rebekiah Johnson needed to be able to access KCBOE property to pick up her younger children, who attended Knox County schools other than New Hopewell Elementary. After receiving the letter, she and Shaque Johnson did not protest against Principal Pratt again….
The court allowed much of the plaintiffs' First Amendment case to go forward:
