Lawyer for anti-abortion student group discusses lawsuit against Noblesville Schools
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — The lawyer for the Noblesville Students for Life club at Noblesville High School said at the heart of their lawsuit is an allegation of retaliation from the school administration for forming an anti-abortion student group.
Zachary Kester is the attorney for the group. He told News 8 on Monday, “The retaliatory closure is in part what the action is about. There were several claims against the school and numerous claims remain.”
According to the court documents, claims for some defendants in their official and individual capacities still stand. These includes the First Amendment right of association, freedom of speech, and right to be free from retaliation, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment right to due process and right to equal protection of the law.
- PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Federal judge dismisses parts of lawsuit over anti-abortion student group in Noblesville
- PDF: Noblesville club ruling
One additional count under the federal Equal Access Act, which was designed to compel federally funded secondary schools to provide equal access to extracurricular student clubs, remains.
The count alleging a violation of the Indiana Constitution partially stands.
Kester alleges his client was told she could not use political images on flyers.
“There were student groups that were permitted to utilize political messaging both in their activities and their flyers, so when this student asked why a photo of students on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court could not be used she was told inconsistent reasons,” Kester said.
Kester said his goal is to stop this from happening again.
“The goal is the court remedies the retaliatory action including the retaliatory closure of the limited public forum in terms of the ability to post student flyers.”
“The constitution doesn’t end at the front door of the school building,” Kester said. “All students have constitutional rights, right? They have rights as it relates to student groups, as it relates to participating to the same degree as all other students with student life.”
In a statement, a Noblesville Schools district representative said, “We’ve been notified that the majority of claims, in this case, were dismissed and look forward to the court’s final ruling on the remaining claims.”