Demand Letter to Daviess County and Owensboro Public Schools on Illegal Election Interference

On October 17, the Liberty Justice Center issued a demand letter to two Kentucky public schools, warning that their joint board meeting may violate Kentucky law and urging the schools to lift their restrictions on constituents’ free speech on social media and at the event.

On October 16, the Daviess County and Owensboro Public Schools issued statements on their official social media pages announcing a joint board meeting with a presentation by the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA). KSBA has vocally opposed Amendment 2, a proposed ballot measure that will appear on the November 5 ballot. If enacted, Amendment 2 would increase educational opportunity across the state by empowering Kentucky’s General Assembly to provide financial support for students outside the public school system.

Under Kentucky law, using public resources—including school districts’ official social media accounts, websites, and staff time—to advocate for or against political issues like ballot measures constitutes illegal election interference. And, under Kentucky Supreme Court precedent, it is grounds for legal action by taxpayers.

The Liberty Justice Center’s demand letter warns the schools that holding a publicly funded meeting to feature a presentation from the KSBA advocating against Amendment 2 violates Kentucky law. As such, their joint board meeting has been reported to the Kentucky Attorney General’s office for misusing taxpayer resources to advance a political viewpoint.

In addition, the Liberty Justice Center’s letter calls out the schools for violating their constituents’ First Amendment rights by blocking public comments on posts about the board meeting and by announcing that attendees “will not be permitted to have signs, shirts, etc. promoting any position related to this ballot measure.” These actions constitute content-based and viewpoint-based restrictions on free speech.

The demand letter warns the schools that the Liberty Justice Center is prepared to represent any individual—whether for or against Amendment 2—who is denied entry or forced to remove clothing or non-disruptive signs to access the meeting based on these restrictions on speech.

A copy of the Liberty Justice Center’s letter to Daviess County and Owensboro Public Schools is available here.