FIRE Defends Parents’ Right to Speak at School Board Meetings

​Less than a year after his children were nearly murdered in the 2022 school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Adam Martinez was banned from school property and school board meetings for two years. His offense? Daring to raise his concerns for the safety of schoolchildren with the chief of police.
 
The world watched the Uvalde shooting at this school in horror: A former student fatally shot 19 students and two teachers. Security camera footage during the shooting showed Uvalde police officers standing by for more than an hour while this atrocity unfolded. Had police intervened, it is entirely likely many lives would have been saved. The police have been roundly condemned and a full investigation and reorganization is underway, so you might think the police would be more receptive to criticism, especially from Robb Elementary parents.
 
It turns out that’s not the case. Martinez has been a leader in his community since the shooting. He started a local group that organized fundraisers for victims of the shooting, engages in community service in Uvalde, and advocates for improvements in school safety. Martinez has spoken out online, at school board meetings, and directly with Uvalde administrators in support of these goals.
 
According to FIRE, in February 2023, Martinez discovered the school district had recently hired an officer the sheriff’s office deemed ineligible for rehire. At a school board meeting that month, Martinez approached Uvalde Schools Police Chief Josh Gutierrez to express his concerns about the hire. Though Gutierrez was initially receptive, he quickly sought to shut down the conversation when it became clear that Martinez was criticizing him. Gutierrez told Martinez to sit down, who refused and pressed his point. Gutierrez then “verbally banned” Martinez from school district property and told him and his family to leave. The following day, Martinez received a letter stating that he was banned from school district property for the next two years.
 
FIRE quickly became involved and sent a letter to the district in May, threatening to sue if the district did not lift the unconstitutional ban. The school district responded in July, formally dropping the ban against Martinez.
 
Protect The 1st commends FIRE on a job well done. We hope the resolution of this incident will encourage school boards around the country to respect the right of parents to speak up. In districts with concerns less fraught than those of Uvalde, disagreements over ideological instruction often become heated. Democracy has always been disputatious. While we recognize exceptions for true threats and obscene language, the speech rights of angry parents should not be diminished by their anger.