LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Wednesday evening’s Clark County School District Board of Trustees work session agenda was amended from its original version to remove an item related to free-speech policy in the district.
A district representative told Channel 13 that it was taken off the agenda for further review and did not share when it could appear on a board meeting agenda.
The item originally showed the board would “review and discuss staff and student free-speech rights policies and regulations.”
Board Trustee Lorena Biassotti is facing calls for removal from her position due to concerns that her comments and social media posts target transgender students. She tried to get the item back on the agenda at the start of Wednesday’s meeting to no avail.
WATCH | Senior reporter Mary Kielar spoke with Biassotti before the work session:
Board President Emily Stevens questioned whether Biassotti violated district policy related to electronic communication and social media.
In the meantime, Biassotti intends to sue the CCSD Board of Trustees.
“It will be moving fast and it will be moving forward,” she told me before the work session.
The ACLU of Nevada is also threatening legal action against the board. They put out a statement saying, in part, “The CCSD board of trustees does not have unlimited authority to restrict employee speech.”
The National Education Association of Southern Nevada provided a statement to Channel 13 on the issue:
“Your job should not cost you your voice. Public school employees do not surrender their right to speak out when they choose a career serving Nevada’s students. A policy that discourages employees from speaking does not just silence workers. It deprives families and the public of the information they need to hold the District accountable.”
