A public school in Northeast Indiana banned the mother of a middle school girl from school property, all for standing up for her daughter’s safety. Now, she’s fighting back with help from the Goldwater Institute.
It all started when a school bus driver was caught on video, belt in hand, walking up and down the bus aisle, with his underwear visible to students, while smacking the belt against his hand. Has he been punished? No one knows. But the Indian Springs Middle School has punished Nicole Graves, a concerned mom who spoke out and took steps to hold the public school accountable—only to be banned from school grounds.
“We cannot be there for our children if we’re banned from the premises,” Nicole said in a new Goldwater Institute video.
This week, the Goldwater Institute warned the school to stop violating her First Amendment rights and demanded officials divulge whether they keep parents informed about their children’s wellbeing.
“Schools are supposed to keep students as their number one priority. By banning parents, they are severing that tie,” Nicole adds.
Immediately after the incident on the school bus, Nicole’s daughter, who was on board at the time, filed an incident report with the appropriate school officials, thinking they would protect her fellow students. They did not—in fact, the school didn’t even think the bus driver’s conduct was worth informing parents about.
Nicole’s daughter, a sixth-grader, told her what happened when she got home from school, and Nicole quickly asked for a meeting with the principal.
This was not the first time Nicole and her family had issues with bus drivers in the district. So, she decided to record the meeting with the principal to ensure an accurate record of what occurred. The principal, however, was more concerned about explaining to Nicole and her husband Andrew that personnel issues with bus drivers just weren’t his problem. Indeed, the principal claimed he was simply too busy to inform parents when their child files an incident report of this nature.
“If you don’t trust the bus drivers, if you don’t trust the transportation department,” the principal said, “I’m just going to be very honest—then just bring your kid to school.”
After this meeting, having “lost confidence in the school that day,” Nicole posted the recording on social media. Instead of addressing her concerns, the district sent Nicole a no-trespass order banning her from appearing at any school building to attend any voluntary activity, such as sports, contests, concerts, plays, etc., without written permission from the Superintendent’s Office at least 24 hours in advance. It also banned her from contacting any staff member without first contacting the superintendent’s office and required all communications with staff members to be in writing.
“It was a punch in the gut, because as our kids grow older and they become more interested in activities, I am the parent that can go,” Andrew said. “My wife cannot come along because of the cease-and-desist.”
“The no-trespass order wasn’t just an outrageous overreaction, it also violates the U.S. Constitution,” Goldwater Staff Attorney Adam Shelton said. “The First Amendment protects the rights of individuals to engage in expressive activity, including the recording of government officials. After all, the act of recording such information necessarily expresses a distrust of the government official and the view that transparency from those paid through taxpayer dollars is a good thing.”
In addition to violating the First Amendment, the school also interfered with Nicole’s constitutional right to direct the care and education of her child.
“Parents have a fundamental right to control and direct the education and upbringing of their children,” Shelton said, “and a necessary part of that right is access to information necessary to determine whether an educational environment is the right environment for one’s child. Schools then have a constitutional responsibility to inform parents of incidents that occur between a student or a staff member, so the parents have the information necessary to exercise their constitutional rights.”
“It’s a problem that needs, to be addressed, why weren’t we notified?” said Nicole’s husband, Andrew, referencing the fact that the school never notified parents about the incident on the bus.
The Goldwater Institute has sent a letter to the school on Nicole’s behalf demanding officials rescind both the no-trespass order and any restrictions on her communications with school staff members. Further, the letter seeks to clarify if the school has an official policy of not notifying parents about incidents between school employees and students.
“I’m grateful to the Goldwater Institute for helping fight for our children, fight for parental rights, fight the school system when they don’t do as they should,” Nicole said.
Public schools around the country are attempting to cut parents out of their children’s education. But the Goldwater Institute is spearheading the nationwide campaign to defend parental rights, standing up for parents whose rights have been violated in states like Pennsylvania, Missouri, Texas, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
Children don’t belong to the government. It’s time for school officials to stop bullying parents who dare to get involved.
You can read our letter to the school here.
