(The Lion) — Saint Louis Public Schools faces a lawsuit for allegedly stifling criticism from parents and community members.
The lawsuit was filed by Chester Asher, a longtime educator and education advocate, who also founded Coalition With STL Kids, a community group dedicated to improving education and literacy in St. Louis.
Asher has been a vocal critic of Saint Louis Public Schools’ (SLPS) leadership, and at one point, was banned from attending school board meetings for six months.
“They violated our First Amendment rights and really tried to stop all criticism of the school district,” Asher told local news. He wants his lawsuit to “empower all teachers and all parents to stand up.”
“You have a right to speak out when things aren’t right,” he added.
The legal complaint was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Missouri and cites SLPS, its school board and board President Antionette Cousins as defendants.
“This lawsuit is about ensuring the voices of parents, teachers, and taxpayers are not suppressed,” Asher explained. “The Board’s repeated attempts to label criticism as ‘anti-SLPS’ stifle the community’s ability to demand the improvements our children deserve.”
Coalition With STL Kids’ website cites the dismal outcomes for SLPS students.
It reported 80% of students reading below grade level, including 87% of black students.
And the numbers only seem to be getting worse – especially for minority students.
The Coalition said 14% of black third graders read proficiently in 2018. But by 2022, that dropped to 9%.
Results statewide are similarly poor.
Both math and reading scores in Missouri remain at or below pre-pandemic numbers with less than half of students achieving proficiency.
Education policy experts have accused state leadership of “punting” responsibility and having “no confidence in their schools.”
It appears that’s especially true in Saint Louis.
“Unless we enable kids to have the ability to read and to read at high levels, we’re going to continue to struggle with crime and poverty,” Asher said.
But Carron Johnson, president of Missouri’s American Federation of Teachers, dismissed the lawsuit’s claims of suppressed speech.
She told local media Asher’s removal from board meetings wasn’t a First Amendment issue because he was being “disruptive and disrespectful.”
However, Asher doesn’t think he’s the only one with a bone to pick with SLPS.
“It’s about teachers, parents and others who tell me they’re afraid of retaliation if they speak up at board meetings about what’s concerning them,” he said.
“This lawsuit is about more than just the law; it’s about our constitutional right to participate in the education of St. Louis students and, more importantly, our moral obligation to speak up for children,” Asher concluded.
