An Iowa mother is allegedly being targeted after speaking out at a school board meeting about Black Lives Matter (BLM) content being taught to her 12-year-old son.
Elayne Casalins, a recently naturalized citizen from the Dominican Republic, told the Daily Caller News Foundation her son was shown a graphic PG-13 movie without parental notification or consent in violation of state law, and subsequent classroom discussions revolved around BLM and police brutality. When the mother voiced her concerns to the school, she was met with a cease and desist letter accusing her of defamation and threatening a lawsuit.
“As a new American citizen, I have constitutional rights that make this nation the envy of the world. There is no better place to live your life and raise a family, and we moved to Iowa to live in a state that upholds these fundamental American values,” Casalins said in a press release from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), which is representing her. “I was shocked to receive such a threatening letter from a law firm representing a public employee, my son’s teacher. But I will continue to tell my story and speak out for my son and the rights of parents across the country.”
The movie Casalins objected to, “Till,” contains graphic depictions of the murder of Emmett Till, a black boy who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. Along with classroom discussions “focused on Black Lives Matter, racism, and police brutality,” Casalins’ son and classmates were also allegedly shown a video of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Alicia Keys and were told “everyone in the video was a victim of racism,” according to WILL.
Casalins allegedly attempted to speak to her son’s teacher, who brushed off her concerns and denied hosting any discussions about BLM, the mother told the DCNF. When further discussions with the school’s principal and superintendent also remained fruitless, Casalins brought the matter to the Belmond-Klemme Community School District (BKCSD) Board of Education.
The mother was soon contacted by an attorney for her son’s teacher in the form of a cease and desist letter, which alleged Casalins’ comments made during the June board meeting constituted “defamation per se,” according to the letter obtained by the DCNF. Casalins claims she never even mentioned the teacher’s name during the meeting.
“I was really scared,” Casalins told the DCNF, recalling her reaction to the letter. “Like, I don’t even know what to do. Like, ‘oh my God, I’m going to lose my house, I’m going to lose my family.’ And also, I was thinking ‘I’m never going to speak out again.’”
The attorney demanded Casalins not to speak about the situation “orally or in print.”
“I expect you understand the seriousness of this matter and I recommend you govern yourself according,” the letter concludes.
BKCSD and the Board of Education did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
WILL sent a letter in response to the cease and desist to the teacher’s attorney on Tuesday, stating “Mrs. Casalins will not be intimidated” and rejecting the claims and demands made by the teacher’s legal counsel.
“Mrs. Casalins will continue to exercise her parental rights and continue to protect her children by seeking to have the objectionable instructional materials and curricula withdrawn,” WILL’s letter reads.
WILL cites Iowa Code § 279.77(2), which states parents and community members have a right to object to educational material being used by a district and request the district to reconsider its use. The organization also references Iowa Code § 279.74, which requires superintendents to ensure curriculum “does not teach, advocate, encourage, promote, or act upon specific stereotyping and scapegoating toward others on the basis of demographic group membership or identity.”
BKCSD school board policy also explicitly states “Members of the school district community may object to the instructional materials utilized in the school district and ask for their use to be reconsidered,” and that “It is the responsibility of the superintendent, in conjunction with the principals, to develop administrative regulations for reconsideration of instructional materials.”
“Nothing our client said was defamatory, and any attempt to use legal counsel and effort to silence her is incredibly inappropriate,” Cory Brewer, education counsel at WILL, told the DCNF. “So I think Elayne would be entirely within her rights to continue to voice her concern and to let other parents know too that they can’t be bullied into silence, especially in a forum like a school board meeting.”
The cease and desist letter sent to Casalins also did not state what exactly was said that was defamatory, WILL’s response points out. WILL also claims the teacher’s attorney incorrectly defined defamation to include things that are not false.
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