Lakeville schools to pay $30K in 'Black Lives Matter' poster settlement
Lakeville's Black Lives Matter posters (Supplied)
LAKEVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Lakeville Public Schools has agreed to pay $30,000 in legal fees after a lawsuit over "Black Lives Matter" posters put up in the district.
Lakeville posters
What we know:
The Upper Midwest Law Center, a conservative nonprofit law firm, celebrated the settlement in a news release on Thursday.
The law firm brought the lawsuit on behalf of a group of parents and students in 2022, claiming the district put up political Black Lives Matter posters but disallowed other political posters, like "Blue Lives Matter" or "All Lives Matter" posters.
The backstory:
After an appeals court decision in 2024, the school board voted in January to remove diversity posters, including two Black Lives Matter posters.
Lakeville schools DEI posters under fire
A school board meeting for Lakeville Public Schools saw a packed house as district leaders decided if posters featuring DEI sentiments should remain in school buildings. FOX 9’s Babs Santos has the latest.
Reaction to settlement
What they're saying:
In a provided statement, Upper Midwest Law Center President Doug Seaton said:
"Our taxpayer-funded schools are a place for students to learn the skills needed for their success and our country’s success, not places for community activists to indoctrinate kids into divisive political viewpoints for eight hours a day. Our goal in this lawsuit was to ‘make school school again,’ and after the Eighth Circuit win, and the removal of the posters, that is exactly what happened. This settlement ensures that viewpoint discrimination will not be tolerated in Minnesota’s public schools, and it reaffirms the principle that school districts must be politically neutral and that all political viewpoints should be allowed equal expression."
Back in January, Seaton told FOX 9 he wouldn't oppose the district creating new posts that promote equality for all students.