People may not be removed from school board meetings without proper cause or warning
TEMECULA VALLEY — Today, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and the First Amendment Coalition reached a settlement with the Temecula Valley Unified School District on behalf of two plaintiffs, following the unconstitutional removal of school board meeting attendees.
Residents Upneet Dhaliwal and Julie Geary sued the Temecula Valley Unified School District, its Board of Trustees, and its president, Joseph Komrosky, in December 2023 for violating their rights under the First Amendment and California law by ejecting them from school board meetings without cause.
The settlement stipulates that the school board president Joseph Komrosky may only remove members of the public for conduct that actually disrupts a meeting and not conduct that he decides is merely “likely to disrupt” the meeting.
“The ability to question elected officials is crucial for democracy,” said Jonathan Markovitz, staff attorney at the ACLU SoCal. “Today’s settlement ensures members of the public that no one can violate their right to participate in school board matters that are crucial to their children and families.”
According to the settlement, the board president may not determine that members of the public are being disruptive and order them removed merely because he disagrees with the viewpoint of their speech. Opposing opinions or stances on topics are not inherently disruptive.
“It is important that our rights to petition the government and air grievances shall not be infringed by a school board president on a power trip,” said plaintiff Julie Geary. “My hope is that the Temecula school board goes back to supporting students’ academic excellence and stops trampling on our constitutional rights.”
In the case of an actual disruption, the board president or their designee must provide a verbal warning and an opportunity to cease the disruptive conduct before removing a member of the public. The settlement makes clear that Komrosky’s unorthodox use of waving penalty cards during board meetings cannot substitute for the verbal warning that is required by California law.
"Debate is democracy, not disruption,” said David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition. “The settlement protects the people’s right to engage with their elected officials free from unlawful censorship.”
The settlement ensures a three-year enforcement period by the U.S. District Court.
“I hope this settlement will ensure that our elected representatives, including Joseph Komrosky, respect the law and refrain from silencing differing or critical opinions,” said plaintiff Upneet Dhaliwal.
Read the settlement: https://www.aclusocal.org/sites/default/files/2024_03_25_settlement_stip_003.pdf