Minnesota students sue after school board bans rainbow & Pride symbols

A Minnesota court will decide whether a school district’s ban on LGBTQ+ Pride stickers is legal after the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota sued over the policy on Tuesday.Representing two students and their parents, the ACLU filed a lawsuit in state court against the Detroit Lakes Public School District and four board members for banning rainbow Pride stickers on classroom doors. The case will be heard in Becker County District Court.In a press release, the ACLU said that on July 27, four school board members voted to ban “rainbow stickers, posters, flags, buttons, and more from all school facilities in the school district.” Displaying small Pride stickers on classroom doors to welcome LGBTQ+ students had been common practice for some teachers, the ACLU said.Related: Federal appeals court says Trump orders aren’t law, rejects trans athlete ban in Minnesota“The resolution was not on the board’s official agenda,” the press release read. “Members of the public, students, and parents were unaware that the Rainbow Ban would be introduced, and the community had no opportunity to object.”When community members attended an August school board meeting to raise concerns about the new policy, the board did not adopt a resolution to postpone the ban’s implementation, the ACLU said.The lawsuit alleges that the ban amounts to anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and harassment under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and violates student rights to free speech and equal protection under the state’s constitution. The plaintiffs also allege the vote on the ban violated Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law.Related: It's now illegal for Minnesota libraries to ban LGBTQ+ books under this new lawThe lawsuit asks the court to issue a permanent injunction blocking the ban on LGBTQ+ Pride symbols and to impose civil penalties against the four board members who voted for its passage: John Steffl, Sanford Nelson, Michelle Okeson and Michael Walther.The school district, located