Ohio man files First Amendment lawsuit against education board

On Apr 26, 2021

The Ohio State Board of Education is no longer accepting verbal comments or criticisms at meetings regarding its resolution to condemn racism, according to a lawsuit filed last week by Cincinnati lawyer Curt Hartman.

The resolution, which outlines the need for a “culturally responsive curriculum” in Ohio schools and implicit bias training for all Ohio educators, was adopted in July after the nation erupted in protests following the death of George Floyd.

The board heard arguments against the resolution during public meetings in the months that followed its adoption, up through November, Hartman said. But at more recent meetings, the board has restricted any comments regarding the resolution, which Hartman says is a “clear violation of the First Amendment.”

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“They pass this resolution, (which is) controversial, with very limited public input. And then after they pass it, they basically shut down their public comments section saying, ‘you can’t talk about this during our public comments section,’ ” Hartman told The Enquirer Thursday morning.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati Monday by Hartman on behalf of Daniel Regenold, a Cincinnati businessman, against the board and five individuals: board president Laura Kohler of New Albany; current elected board members Meryl Johnson of Cleveland, Antoinette Miranda of Columbus and Christina Collins of Medina; and at-large board member Martha Manchester of Lakeview.

Regenold runs EmpowerUOhio.org, which posts online talks about a range of topics including free speech and censorship. He is also CEO of Frame USA, a retail store in Springdale.

According to the lawsuit, Regenold wrote an email to the board in advance of an April board meeting, articulating his desire to speak on critical race theory.

“When you take your action to limit speech, with many of the other actions taken by the board in the last nine months, it starts to present a clear view to Ohioans of the Board’s intent,” Regenold wrote.

Kohler responded, stating she made the decision in late fall “to limit public comment” on the resolution and the 1619 Project, named for the date of the first arrival of Africans on American soil, “to written testimony only,” according to the lawsuit.

The 1619 Project was launched in August 2019 by the New York Times Magazine in an effort to reframe U.S. history with a focus on slavery and the contributions of Black Americans. Nikole Hannah-Jones won a 2020 Pulitzer prize for her lead essay in the 1619 Project, and the Pulitzer Center has since partnered with the Times to create school resources that supplement the project.

Mandy Minick, chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Education, declined to comment on the lawsuit as of Thursday morning.

What’s in the resolution?

The board’s Resolution to Condemn Racism and to Advance Equity and Opportunity for Black Students, Indigenous Students and Students of Color is a statement against racism. But Hartman charges that it “goes far beyond that.”

“It’s basically promoting and advancing critical race theory and the 1619 Project,” he said.

The board does not explicitly mention the 1619 Project in its resolution. In the lawsuit, Hartman describes the 1619 Project as a “Marxist-inspired effort at revisionist history that falsely seeks to redefine and vilify the United States and its founding principles.”

The resolution does call for a curriculum that “reflects the history and background of all students, and empowers students to value all cultures.” The resolution also calls for a reexamination of academic content standards and model curriculums to eliminate bias and ensure accuracy in discussions of racism.

Black male students often fall behind their white peers in school and have lower graduation rates, the resolution states, and are often affected disproportionately by suspensions, expulsions and zero-tolerance discipline policies in schools.

“Research has shown that a culturally responsive curriculum can motivate students of color to a higher level of academic achievement and in many cases increase the graduation rate of previously disengaged students,” the resolution reads.

The board wrote that the “starting point” in working towards racial equity “must be reflection and internal examination.” The resolution says the board will offer implicit bias training to board members and require the same training for all state employees and contractors working with the Department of Education. It encourages all Ohio school districts to conduct examinations and reflections on their own internal policies, curriculum, hiring practices and student discipline.

‘I don’t want to… listen.’

The resolution undermines “the freedom-loving aspects of American society,” according to the lawsuit, and provoked a “significant outcry” from the public. But now Regenold and others have been “barred” from speaking during Board of Education meetings based on their “anticipated statements,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit says board president Kohler decided to preclude any further comments from the public regarding the resolution or other related topics sometime after the board’s Nov. 10 meeting.

The board never formally voted on the restrictions, but the lawsuit said the ban has prevailed since then. During an April 13 meeting, Kohler acknowledged that there were “a couple of speakers who wanted to address the Board on critical race theory” but denied them the opportunity to speak based on the subject matter, the lawsuit states.

Other board members applauded Kohler’s decision, according to the lawsuit. Miranda said she thought “it will not serve any purpose to have a talk about critical race theory” and that “people don’t really understand it.”

“I don’t want to sit here again and listen to two months of people – they have their opinions… This is not what I’m here for,” Johnson said at the April 13 meeting, according to the lawsuit.

Hartman’s lawsuit against the Ohio Board of Education calls for an injunction to stop board members from prohibiting public comment on the topic of race at future meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for May 10-11, according to the Department of Education’s website.