Linn-Mar lawsuit dropped by Iowa mother after school board rescinds meeting ban
The Linn-Mar School District has backed down from ban on attendance at its board meetings by a parent it accused of being disruptive, and she is withdrawing a lawsuit she filed over the issue, according to her attorney.
Marion police removed Amanda Snyder from an August 2022 meeting. Her subsequent lawsuit sought monetary penalties for meetings she was barred from attending and asked the court to find School Board President Brittania Morey in violation of state open meeting laws.
On June 28, Snyder filed to dismiss her suit against the district. Her attorney, Alan Ostergren, told the Register the district had dropped its ban on Snyder and agreed to pay her attorney fees.
The district did not respond to a request for comment.
Why was Amanda Snyder banned by Linn-Mar school board?
Video from the 2022 meeting showed Snyder, who had not spoken during a designated "public comment" period, interrupting the board with questions as it discussed a contract with an outside group to "support social, emotional and behavior growth" for students.
Board members had Snyder removed from the meeting. In her lawsuit, filed the following month, Snyder said she was told she was banned from attending board meetings for a year and would instead be required to submit any written comments to the board in advance. She argued in court this unlawfully restricted her First Amendment right to speak and petition the government.
Attorney calls meeting dispute misunderstanding
Ostergren, who often provides representation for conservative causes in Iowa, argued on Snyder's behalf that the yearlong ban was an extreme overreaction, and that board policy in any case did not authorize officials to ban members of the public from future meetings.
"(Snyder) certainly is willing to follow the rules, if that's what the board says,” Ostergren told the Register last year. “But she shouldn't lose her right to attend public meetings for a year because she misunderstood what the rules were on one occasion.”
Another Linn-Mar school lawsuit on appeal
Snyder's September 2022 lawsuit followed a suit by a group of parents who objected to the district's policy of respecting name and pronoun choices by transgender students and making bathroom and locker accommodations for them. The lawsuit, also involving Ostergren, argued the policy violated parents' and students' constitutional rights.
A federal judge later declined to issue an injunction against the policy, finding that the plaintiffs did not face any "irreparable harm" that would justify the court immediately interceding. An appeal of that decision is pending.
The state has since passed a law mandating students use school restrooms matching their gender at birth and to notify parents if a student wishes to go by different pronouns.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa school board drops ban against parent who interrupted meeting
