A Kansas City-area mom banned from all school property and events for taking and sharing a photo of a sex-related school poster had her ban overturned Thursday in federal court.
Carrie Schmidt had been banned by Gardner Edgerton Unified School District 231 – not just from its property and events, but also from events at other area school districts that involved Gardner Edgerton students and personnel.
After hearing testimony and argument at a hearing in Topeka, U.S. Chief Judge for the District of Kansas Eric F. Melgren issued a preliminary injunction lifting Gardner Edgerton’s ban on Schmidt.
The injunction, which took effect immediately, will stand until Schmidt’s lawsuit against the school district is concluded.
Without the injunction, Schmidt would’ve been in peril of not seeing her children engage in sports or even graduate.
Schmidt had previously drawn the ire and derision of Gardner Edgerton officials for her efforts to weed out library books with inappropriate sexual references and themes.
But she was banned from district property and events after she took a photo of a poster promoting Gay-Straight Alliance meetings at Gardner Edgerton High School. The photo was posted on X by Libs of TikTok and went viral, now with nearly 106,000 views, leading to unwanted attention for the district.
Schmidt’s lawyer Linus Baker said Judge Melgren told district officials at the hearing that they were too thin-skinned, reminding them that federal judges like him get their share of negative publicity too. The judge said the district’s actions appear to have been an overreaction and an overstepping of the district’s authority.
Whether they were will ultimately be determined by the playing out of the lawsuit at trial, unless the parties settle.
Baker says he sees no signs at this point that the district won’t fight the lawsuit to the end.
“USD 231 is fully prepared to defend its actions in court,” Dr. Ben Boothe, assistant superintendent of Educational Services, wrote The Heartlander in an email, “and, because this matter is in litigation, will not be providing public comment on the matter other than through the court proceedings.
“USD 231 serves nearly 6,000 students and employs close to 1,000 staff members. Our top priority is ensuring a safe, supportive, and respectful learning and working environment, free from threats, intimidation, and harassment.
