District pays $25K to settle lawsuit
A parent blocked on Facebook sued DPS, former board member
Denver Public Schools paid $25,000 to settle claims that former school board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson violated a parent’s First Amendment right to free speech by blocking her from his Facebook page during his time on the Board of Education.
The settlement announced Monday follows last month’s unanimous ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that found public officials can sometimes be sued for blocking critics on social media, including when using personal accounts.
The lawsuit, filed against DPS and Anderson by Denver parent Eve Chen last year in the U.S. District Court of Colorado, was brought, in part, to challenge a state law that allows elected leaders to ban anyone from their private social media accounts, an attorney representing Chen said at the time.
“This is one of the first cases to settle after the Supreme Court’s decision in Lindke v. Freed and it shows that the First Amendment still protects citizen’s speech online from government censorship,” said Andy Mcnulty, an attorney representing Chen, in a statement. “Other officials across the state should take notice and immediately cease any efforts to censor people online or prepare to face the same consequences.”
Denver’s school board voted last month to change its social media policy to clarify “what is permitted by sitting directors on their social media platforms” under the recent Supreme Court ruling, district spokesman Scott Pribble said in a statement.
“Denver Public Schools is satisfied that we were able to come to a settlement agreement in the lawsuit filed by Ms. Chen,” he said. “Although the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that public figures, such as board members, could block constituents in certain circumstances likely applicable to this case, the district chose to settle this matter to avoid additional costs associated with litigation.”
Pribble and Anderson said the district paid the entire $25,000 settlement in the case as Anderson was a board member when the lawsuit was filed. Anderson’s term on the board ended last year.
“I’m happy that this is now settled and that we are now moving forward from this,” Anderson said, adding, “I am disappointed that taxpayer dollars were wasted in such a reckless manner due to an individual seeking a payout.”
Chen filed the lawsuit after Anderson deleted a comment she posted on his Facebook page and blocked her. She had made the comment on a Facebook post that Anderson made in July regarding a vote the school board was scheduled to take on whether to support Superintendent Alex Marrero’s decision to fire Kurt Dennis, the former principal of Mcauliffe International School.
Parents criticized Dennis’ termination, which followed a televised news interview he did about safety concerns in the district following last year’s shooting at East High School. The school board voted against reinstating the principal.
In her post, Chen asked about getting an unredacted version of the 2021 investigative report that found anonymous allegations of sexual assault made against Anderson were unsubstantiated. The report also found Anderson made intimidating social media posts and flirted with a 16-year-old student before knowing her age — findings that led the school board to censure Anderson that same year.
Chen’s lawsuit argued that because Anderson used his Facebook page to discuss DPS policy and his decisions as the board’s then-vice president, it “functions as a digital town hall.”
Anderson said Chen “never lost full access to” him, retaining access to his other social media accounts, including on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
“If I were ever to pursue elected office in the future, I would just be very clear that my commentary is on behalf of myself,” Andreson said of his social media use.