The educator was disciplined for political speech protected under the First Amendment and suspended for seven days without pay
Yesterday, the Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC), representing fourth grade teacher Brooke Zahn, sent a letter to the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District, demanding they rescind all disciplinary actions against Ms. Zahn and issue a formal public apology. Ms. Zahn was targeted and reprimanded for posting a meme from her private Facebook account to a private Facebook group titled “Prior Lake Light Hearted Conservative Group.” The meme read: A family that is deported together stays together.
“Ms. Zahn was targeted for her political views, and the school district clearly violated her First Amendment rights. Educators should not be punished for expressing their protected political beliefs when it has no impact on their teaching, and when it does not cause harm or significant educational disruption,” said James Dickey, Senior Trial Counsel for the Upper Midwest Law Center. “We hope the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District acknowledges their misstep and issues an immediate apology to Ms. Zahn. If not, we will pursue legal action.”
The letter sent by UMLC asks the school district to immediately rescind all disciplinary actions against Ms. Zahn, remove all information related to the discipline and its underlying basis from her personnel file, reimburse her for the seven days she was suspended without pay, and issue a formal public apology in all forums in which they reported on this incident, on the homepage of the District website, and orally through an individual designated by the District at the beginning of the next regular Board meeting.
If the District does not accept these terms by February 28, 2025, Ms. Zahn plans to move forward with a lawsuit.
You can read more about Ms. Zahn and the actions of the School District in a Federalist Article published yesterday here: How A Minnesota School District Is Trying To Drive Out A Trump-Supporting Teacher For Sharing A Meme.
