Opinion ID: 24815
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Petition Drive

Text: 21 On March 25, 1999, Jenkins, a mother of a student at Armstrong Middle School, contacted Defendant Brooks, Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for the PISD, to inquire about sending a flyer home with the PISD school children. The PISD has used school children to deliver informational flyers to their parents in the past. (This process, by which students are provided with information to take home to their parents, is hereinafter referred to as the school mail delivery system.) Jenkins's proposed flyer was purportedly on behalf of MathChoice, a non-profit, unincorporated group of parents concerned about the implementation of Connected Math. In addition to providing information critical of Connected Math, the flyer solicited the signatures of parents who desired an alternative to Connected Math. Brooks rejected the request to send the petition home with the children. The reason stated for denying the request was that [o]nly non-profit groups providing programming or services for students are allowed to send flyers home with students. The PISD concedes that organizations such as the P.T.A. and other school organizations have contacted parents through this method of delivery. Jenkins asserts that for-profit entities such as athletic summer camps and local amusement parks have also used the service. Jenkins eventually mailed the MathChoice petition to parents using the U.S. mails. 22 II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY On August 25, 1999, Plaintiffs filed their Original Complaint for Declaratory Judgment, Injunctive Relief, and Damages, seeking a judgment from the district court that Defendants' conduct violated Plaintiffs' constitutional rights. Relevant to this appeal, Kirke and Johnson brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech were abridged by the PISD when they were not allowed to distribute literature, display signs, or collect signatures on a petition at the Math Nights. Jenkins also brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that her First Amendment right was violated when she was denied the opportunity to send a petition home with students that criticized Connected Math. Plaintiffs also brought other federal and state claims not relevant to this appeal; those claims were denied in the district court. 4 23 On February 11, 2000, Defendants moved for summary judgment, based, in part, on qualified immunity. Regarding the First Amendment issues relevant to this appeal, Defendants argued that Plaintiffs could not demonstrate that a clearly established constitutional right had been violated, and that, even if such a violation could be demonstrated, their actions were objectively reasonable. 24 On May 5, 2000, the district court issued its Order resolving the issue of qualified immunity. Regarding Kirke's and Johnson's First Amendment claims, the district court concluded that it must deny Burleson, Criswell, Wohlgehagen, Davis, and Sellers's motion for summary judgment insofar as it asserted qualified immunity. The district court determined that, in examining the summary judgment evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, Kirke and Johnson had alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right, in that, the actions of the individual Defendants created an inference of impermissible content-based discrimination. Regarding Jenkins's request to use the PISD school mail delivery system, the district court declined to address Brooks's summary judgment argument based on qualified immunity because additional discovery was necessary to determine whether there was content-based discrimination motivating the denial of her request to distribute the MathChoice petition. 5 25 Defendants, in their individual capacities, timely appeal the denials of summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds.