Parent Can Bring Speech Retaliation Suit Against School Leaders

A federal appeals panel reversed a lower court dismissal of a school parent’s retaliation case under the First Amendment, ruling school district officials aren’t shielded by qualified immunity in this case.

Inge Berge had his retaliation claim against the officials with the School Committee of Gloucester revived by the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the panel ruled in a unanimous opinion Monday. But the school district itself won’t face retaliation allegations since Berge never challenged the lower court’s dismissal of the claim, Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson wrote.

Berge sought tickets to his daughter’s sold-out school play in ...