From yesterday's decision in Moms for Liberty-Brevard County v. Brevard Public Schools, written by Judge Britt Grant and joined by Judge Barbara Lagoa:
For many parents, school board meetings are the front lines of the most meaningful part of local government—the education of their children. And sometimes speaking at these meetings is the primary way parents interact with their local leaders or communicate with other community members. No one could reasonably argue that this right is unlimited, but neither is the government's authority to restrict it.
A group called Moms for Liberty brought this lawsuit on behalf of members who say their speech was chilled and silenced at Brevard County School Board meetings. According to the Board's presiding officer, their comments were "abusive," "personally directed," "obscene," or some combination of the three. Because the first prohibition was viewpoint based, the second was both unreasonable and vague, and the application of the third was (at a minimum) unreasonable, these policies are unconstitutional….
We agree with the parties that the school board meetings here qualify as limited public forums because they are created "for certain groups or for the discussion of certain topics." The Brevard County School Board meetings are for parents and community members to "express themselves on school matters of community interest." In a limited public forum, the government's restrictions on speech "must not discriminate against speech on the basis of viewpoint," and "must be reasonable in light of the purpose served by the forum." …
[A.] We start with the policy permitting the Board's presiding officer to interrupt speech seen as "abusive." The way that Board Chair Belford interprets and enforces the rule diverges from the common understanding of the word "abusive." … Belford said the policy would prohibit calling people "names that are generally accepted to be unacceptable." That definition is constitutionally problematic because it enabled Belford to shut down speakers whenever she saw their message as offensive.
