A college district is paying out $330,000 because it censored pro-life and anti-communist messaging from students.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression explains it was the Young America’s Foundation and several of its officers, Alejandro Flores, Juliette Colunga and Daniel Flores, who took court action against Clovis Community College when school officials “schemed” to remove student-group flyers because of their messages.
The settlement includes a court order against further censorship as well as $20,000 payments to each of the plaintiffs, including the YAF chapter, plus $250,000 in legal charges.
“We’re thrilled that today’s victory will benefit the speech rights of over 50,000 California students,” said FIRE attorney Daniel Ortner. “From now on, student groups won’t have to second guess or jump through hoops just to hang a flyer on the bulletin board. And rather than wielding unrestrained power to decide whose views are ‘appropriate’ or ‘offensive,’ administrators will defer to the First Amendment.”
The courts found that the school’s practices violated the First Amendment.
The fight dates back to 2022 when FIRE sued Clovis for taking down a student group’s flyers, that included both pro-life and anti-communist messages.
School officials claimed the right to censor whatever they called “inappropriate or offensive,” a practice that now has been terminated by the court.
“We won. We showed the school they were wrong. … If you think your speech is being stifled, don’t stay quiet, because when you stay quiet, nothing changes,” one plaintiff said.
The school’s new policy will protect the First Amendment rights of student groups, and it also will hold training sessions for administrators on the subject.
Earlier in the fight, the 9th UK.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had affirmed a preliminary ruling that ordered the college to stop its censorship.
“This is a victory not only for the rule of law but for everyone who values free speech,” said Gov. Scott Walker, president of Young America’s Foundation and former governor of Wisconsin. “We hope this sends a clear message to those who are considering violating our students’ constitutional rights — don’t, or you could end up in court-ordered First Amendment training like the administrators at Clovis College.”
Emails uncovered during the course of the court filings revealed school officials telling one another not to share those emails.
A report from Just the News explained, “Officials were facing the prospect of losing qualified immunity and suffering personal liability in district court when the case was remanded.”
A school official said in a statement the settlement was reached to avoid the costs and “distractions” that come with litigation.
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