A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the Brevard County School Board, preventing them from enforcing a controversial policy that restricts public comments at board meetings. This order comes after an appeals court ruled in October that parts of the policy violated the First Amendment right to free speech.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021 by a local chapter of Moms for Liberty and other plaintiffs, challenged the school board’s policy targeting “abusive,” “obscene,” and “personally directed” speech. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found these provisions to be overly broad and unconstitutional.
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Despite the appeals court ruling, the Brevard School Board had not revised or removed the policy, prompting the plaintiffs to seek a temporary restraining order to prevent its enforcement at a board meeting scheduled for Tuesday night.
U.S. District Judge Roy Dalton granted the restraining order, which will remain in effect until February 4th. In his order, Judge Dalton stated that the plaintiffs had “more than established a substantial likelihood” of success in their claims, given the appeals court’s prior ruling. He emphasized that the board cannot continue enforcing an unconstitutional policy simply because they haven’t had time to adopt a new one.
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Judge Dalton also acknowledged the “imminent irreparable harm” that could be caused by the policy, stating that it “chills a plaintiff’s right to speak at future meetings and could prevent that speech altogether.”
The temporary restraining order ensures that, for now, the Brevard County School Board cannot enforce the challenged restrictions on public comments. This case serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding First Amendment rights, even in the face of heated public discourse.
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