Grosse Pointe Schools parent sues after ban for classroom pride flag video post

Parent sues Grosse Pointe Schools after ban from post criticizing pride flag

A parent of a Grosse Pointe middle schooler is suing after a post he made criticizing a classroom pride flag earned him a ban from the property.

GROSSE POINTE - A parent has been banned from attending events at the Grosse Pointe Schools district because of his opposition to a middle school displaying the Progress Pride Flag.

The backstory:

The father of a student at Parcells Middle School district was upset after discovering some classrooms displayed the pride flag.

He recorded it, and sent it to parent groups. The school district felt it was intimidating and banned him from school activities. 

Now that parent is suing the school district alleging his First Amendment rights were violated.

(On video) "When we first walked into this classroom, what do we see?" the parent says while recording video before focusing on the pride flag. "Boom. What a bold statement."

Attorney David Kallman is representing the parent suing the school.

FOX 2: "Why is this a First Amendment case?"

"Because it deals with parents' speech and right to speak out," he said. " this is the first amendment case with parents’ speech and right to speak out."

"We already know that this is a gay transgender flag, and we know the community it represents the LGBTQ and whatever other letters they’re adding to it, these days," the parent said on video. "You continue to let these groomer teachers push their distorted worldview upon your children and the values that you raise them with?"

"The lawsuit does not challenge the fact that gay pride flags are at the school," Kallman said. "What this comes down to Charlie is, this school did not like what he had to say."

FOX 2: "You call the teachers groomers, isn’t that defamatory?"

"He wasn’t claiming anybody’s a pedophile or a groomer in that sense ," Kallman said. "What he’s saying is, they’re teaching an ideology that I don’t agree with, and they’re doing it behind my back, and they’re not telling parents what’s going on and that’s the issue."

Although we didn’t get a formal response from Grosse Pointe schools, in court documents, the school said that the parent was intimidating and harassing. Officials also rejected the parent's claims of the teacher being called a groomer.

Again, the case is not about the right to fly the pride flag. It’s about a parent's right to express his free speech without being kicked out of the school.