Portland schools lift ban on mother who criticized gender curriculum
Portland Public Schools has rescinded a one-year trespass order against Oregon mother Allison Roberts, who had questioned the district's gender-related curriculum and classroom assignments, as part of a settlement with her legal team.
Portland Public Schools has rescinded a trespass order barring an Oregon mother from school grounds after she objected to the district's gender curriculum, according to the Liberty Justice Center, the legal group representing her. The settlement reverses a ban that had prevented Allison Roberts from attending school events, including her child's graduation ceremony.
Roberts first raised concerns last year after Meriwether Lewis Elementary School repainted its traditional rainbow pride flag into an "Intersex-Inclusive Progress" variant that included support for racial inclusion and transgender rights. She also found an "identity flower" assignment given to her 11-year-old child, which asked students to identify and discuss their gender identity with classmates and teachers. After what she described as an unsatisfactory response from the school, Roberts wrote an open letter to the community criticizing the district's policies and distributed it on a public sidewalk outside school property.
The school later accused Roberts of "harassment, intimidation and threatening behavior" as part of what it called a pattern of "animus and harassment targeting vulnerable members of [the] community." The district issued her a one-year trespass order. Roberts filed suit in August, and the legal group said the district agreed to several concessions before a scheduled hearing on her motion for a preliminary injunction. Those concessions include rescinding the campus ban, exempting her children from certain LGBTQ2SIA+-related curriculum requirements, and reviewing the district's nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policy.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Portland Public Schools confirmed that it "agreed to rescind the trespass notice in mid-November." The district said it "has and will continue to comply with all laws that serve and protect children."
Timothy Snowball, lead attorney for the Liberty Justice Center's PARENTS Initiative, described the concessions as a "victory" and said they showed the district recognized its actions were unconstitutional. He said the district had been prepared to fight Roberts only two days before negotiations began, but changed course after a federal judge explained why its conduct raised constitutional problems. "The timing of this settlement is not a coincidence," Snowball said.
Snowball also said the fight is not over. Another hearing on the district's policies is scheduled for Dec. 1, with a focus on rules that Snowball says allow teachers to withhold information from parents. "Parents have the fundamental right to direct their children's upbringing and education," he said in a separate statement. "We intend to keep fighting until those rights are protected."
Roberts said she had received broad support for her legal efforts from her local community and from parents and grandparents across the country. "I never wanted things to get to this point," she said, adding that she believed bringing the suit was the right thing to do.
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