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When Sandra Hernden forwarded to her school board a news article about a ruling from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that protected free speech at board meetings, she didn’t anticipate the harsh retaliation that landed her before the same court this June.
Sandra is a police officer and mother to a special needs student in Chippewa Valley Schools. When schools shifted to remote learning in March 2020 due to COVID, Sandra witnessed the toll it took on her son’s academic progress and social development.
When the district opted for a hybrid model of instruction instead of returning to full in-person learning, Sandra began speaking out. She attended board meetings and emailed school board members, urging them to set aside their political views and focus on the impact their decisions were having on the children in the district.
Sandra, like any parent, has only done what is best for her child. Rather than taking her feedback in an appropriate manner, the school board violated her First Amendment rights, attacked her character and attempted to take away her voice.
On Sept. 29, 2022, the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed suit in federal district court against the Chippewa Valley Schools Board of Education, and two of its members, Frank Bednard and Elizabeth Pyden. Sandra is seeking $3 in damages and an apology.
Sandra’s fight made its way to the appeals court in June, represented by the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation.
Awaiting a decision from the court, Sandra recently spoke on our Overton Window Podcast to tell her story.
Once education switched to online, Sandra said, she started seeing “daily emotional breakdowns” from her children. “It scared me as a parent.”
The lack of one-on-one instruction that her children formerly received in person affected their learning, especially for her special needs son. Before the lockdown, his GPA was 3.5; Sandra had to watch as it fell over 2 points.
“I’m not a teacher. All I can do is go on the internet and say, ‘I think it’s this. I don’t — I don’t know how else I can help you, but I’ll help you research it.’”
But it wasn’t just the learning adjustments that harmed Sandra’s kids.
“The isolation — from their friends, from their day-today normal life — was a huge toll that it took on them.” She went on, “I’m a mom. You don’t want to see your child depressed. You don’t want to see your child unhappy. You don’t want to see them emotionally struggling. You don’t want to see them consistently having meltdowns.”
She started emailing the school board. No response. She started showing up to school board Zoom meetings, but her efforts to speak were met with increasing hostility. She was frequently interrupted or silenced.
That’s when Sandra found the news article about the July 7, 2021, Ison v. Madison Local School District ruling, which held that restricting the public’s ability to speak at board meetings violated the First Amendment. She sent the article in an email to the board, cautioning it to take care when interrupting her comments.
The board acted, but not to improve her children’s education.
“The next thing you know, I’m finding out that the board president had referred me to the Department of Justice and said that I was a ringleader of a group that was causing chaos and disrupting their school board meetings.” That’s when she decided to file suit.
For Sandra and the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, the best outcome would be an appeals court ruling that if you retaliate against someone for exercising their First Amendment rights, you can be held accountable.
Sandra’s son graduated in May with honors. “He is actually working a full-time job now in construction,” she says, “He is happy, and he is absolutely content.”
Sandra now serves on her local school board. “When people come to our school board meetings, I make sure I address them.”
Sandra’s ability to overcome retaliation from public officials does not condone the injustice done to her.
A generous donor has launched a $500,000 matching challenge to support the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation. Every dollar you give will be matched, doubling your impact in cases like Sandra’s.
To give the gift of freedom, please visit: www.mackinac.org/litigation/donate.
Her message to parents is this:
“Your voice absolutely has power behind it. It can inspire change. Obviously, my voice was threatening to them. That’s why we’re at where we’re at now. That’s why we can’t stop this case — so that parents know that you can go to your local school board or to your town hall meeting and you can speak what you feel and how you feel about something. You can never give up, especially when it comes to your children, because at the end of the day, we know what’s best for them.”
