ACLU-KY CLIENT ELIZABETH JONES REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH JENKINS IND. SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR VIOLATION OF HER FREE SPEECH RIGHTS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. –The Jenkins Independent School District Board of Education has admitted violating the First Amendment free speech rights of ACLU of Ky client Elizabeth Jones in her lawsuit challenging the Board’s decision to ban her from school property because of her social media posts.

Under the settlement, the parties today jointly asked the District Court to convert its preliminary injunction ruling in Jones’ favor to a permanent injunction. If granted, the injunction would permanently prevent the school district from banning Jones from school property for her past social media posts. Further, the Jenkins Independent School District Board of Education agreed to pay $70,000 for Jones’ damages and attorney fees. Jones has agreed to dismiss her remaining claims against Superintendent Damian Johnson and the individual school board members.

Jones, a mother of two children in the district, was banned from school property and school events in December 2025 after school officials claimed some of her social media posts “appeared to be harassment.” The district did not accuse Jones of making threats or engaging in violence.

The ACLU of Kentucky’s suit filed on Jones’ behalf argued that the district retaliated against Jones for constitutionally protected speech and violated her First Amendment rights. Earlier this year, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction preventing the district from enforcing the ban while the lawsuit continued.

“This settlement makes permanent what we have argued from the beginning: government officials cannot punish someone simply because they dislike or take offense at protected speech,” said Bethany Baxter, staff attorney for the ACLU of Kentucky. “Elizabeth should never have been forced to choose between exercising her First Amendment rights and being present for her children. This resolution protects her ability to do both and sends an important reminder that public officials remain bound by the Constitution, even when speech makes them uncomfortable.”

“I’m grateful that I can put this behind me and focus on what mattered most from the beginning: being there for my children,” Jones said. “School officials are not the social media police, and no parent should lose the ability to attend their children’s school-related activities simply because of non-threatening, routine online comments that school officials dislike.”

Jones regularly attended her children’s sporting events and school activities for years without causing disruptions or violating school rules. The social media posts later identified by the district included jokes, commentary, and photographs from sporting events that were open to the general public.

The permanent injunction means the district cannon reinstate or enforce the No Trespass Orders at the center of the lawsuit against Jones because of her posts that it deemed objectionable.

“This case was about more than one parent and one school district,” said Corey Shapiro, legal director for the ACLU of Kentucky. “The First Amendment protects speech precisely because government officials do not get to decide that only agreeable or popular speech deserves protection.”

The case is Elizabeth Jones v. Jenkins Independent School District, et al., in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislature and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms. For additional information, visit our website at: www.aclu-ky.org.