In an apparent effort to chill parental advocacy, the Chicago Public Schools suspended Lillian Mosely’s son on at least 3 separate occasions in September 2000. Each episode of discipline coincided with Ms. Mosely advocating for her son’s rights in school. In March 2001, the police "arrived at the classroom and pulled [the child] out for questioning" because of a fight "notwithstanding the fact that the parent [of the other child] had spoken with Mosely and had told her that the problem had been solved," and she did not wish to pursue charges. It was later revealed that the other child was responsible for starting the fight. Moreover, in April 2000 the police, at the request of school staff, removed Ms. Mosely from a school meeting for handing out flyers.
Lillian Mosely filed suit in Federal District Court in Chicago for violation of her rights and those of her son. Both cases were dismissed and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals [Download Mosely_v. CPS.pdf]
reversed these dismissals and allowed the cases to go forward.
The actions of Chicago Public Schools, as alleged in the complaint, does not serve as a civics lesson. Schools should be a forum for stakeholders (parents, school staff, students) to advocate, disagree and assert legal rights without fear of retaliation. Fortunately, this parent was not deterred and held firm. The court was willing to acknowledge the pattern of harassment was related to her advocacy. Most schools would not be as brazen in their actions as the facts of this case. This case illustrates, however, that schools are willing to step over the line and assert their considerable power to stifle advocacy.