Jackson School District defends suspension of student in response to lawsuit regarding alleged social media threat

The Jackson Public School District filed a response in federal court Tuesday, Jan. 7, to a lawsuit filed in November 2024 after a student was suspended for the school year over an alleged social media threat that prompted the district to cancel classes and extracurricular events.

The district denied allegations that the student was wrongfully suspended and requested to dismiss five of the six counts outlined in the lawsuit. Additionally, the district claimed immunity because of protections outlined in the Coverdell Act. The district’s counsel defended its decision to suspend the student and requested five of the lawsuit’s six counts be dismissed.

The lawsuit was filed by the Freedom Center of Missouri on Nov. 25 on behalf of a 12-year-old Jackson Junior High School student who was suspended for 180 days for allegedly spreading a threatening message against the school on Snapchat. The plaintiff was initially suspended for 10 days and returned to school for 1 1/2 days before having their suspension extended to 180 days.

On Nov. 12, the Jackson Public Schools Board of Education held an appeal hearing, and the student’s suspension was upheld.

The district claims the suspension was justified because the student caused a “material and substantial disruption to the school environment” after classes and extracurricular activities were canceled Sept. 13. The plaintiff claims the student was sharing a message they had seen with a friend in another school district, who proceeded to post it on their Snapchat story with the plaintiff’s name visible, making it look like they had made the threat.

According to the lawsuit, police found the plaintiff was not the source of the threat and the school district was informed, which the district denied in its response.

Because the lawsuit claims the plaintiff’s constitutional rights were violated, the school district filed a notice of removal with the circuit court Dec. 31 to move the case to federal court. On Jan. 2, magistrate Judge Abbie Crites-Leoni recused herself and the case was randomly reassigned to senior district Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr.

A pretrial Zoom conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 10.