America First Legal (AFL) has initiated legal proceedings against the Cherry Creek School District and several of its senior administrative officials. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, alleges that the district retaliated against an employee for expressing his views on race during a mandatory diversity training session, thus violating his First Amendment rights.
The plaintiff, represented by AFL, is a former Dean of Students at Campus Middle School in Cherry Creek School District. According to AFL, the educator faced pressure from the district to adopt race-based ideologies and was subsequently punished for non-compliance.
In January, during a district-mandated training program on race and equity called "Courageous Conversations," facilitated by Pacific Educational Group (PEG), participants were assured that their comments would remain confidential and would not affect their employment status. During a breakout session in this training, AFL's client expressed his identity as an American and his belief that the United States is the greatest country in the world.
Following these remarks, the district's Equity Director reported them to the school's principal as having "racist undertones." Despite assurances from school administration that there would be no adverse consequences, AFL's client was informed in March that his position was being eliminated due to "budgetary reasons." However, AFL claims this justification contradicts district records showing an increase in staffing allocations for the 2024-2025 school year. When he questioned this reasoning with district officials, he was placed on administrative leave for "unprofessional conduct."
Ian Prior, Senior Advisor at America First Legal, stated: “As alleged in the complaint, Cherry Creek School District blatantly violated the First Amendment rights of our client when they terminated him because his pride in the United States of America did not align with the district’s political ideology that America is a systemically racist nation. Like other school districts across the country, Cherry Creek has replaced the Bill of Rights with the ‘DEI Manifesto,’ and teachers, students, and parents are being silenced for standing up for values that make America great.”
The lawsuit names multiple parties including Cherry Creek School District; its Board of Education; Angela Garland (President of Cherry Creek School District Board of Education); Christopher Smith (Superintendent); Angie Zehner (Director of Middle Schools); Courtney Smith (Director of Human Resources); Lissa Staal (Principal of Campus Middle School); and Ronald Garcia y Ortiz (Executive Director of Equity).
America First Legal remains committed to protecting free speech rights without fear of retaliation and opposing what it describes as divisive race-based indoctrination within educational systems.