Thomas More Society attorneys sent a demand letter dated February 16, 2022 to East Career and Technical Academy and Clark County School Board officials addressing the Las Vegas school’s repeated discrimination against the Students for Life Club in violation of federal law. The demand additionally asks the district superintendent and school principal to address the recurring cyberbullying directed against student Felipe Avila, a leader of the pro-life group. The abuse was expressly motivated by Avila’s pro-life viewpoint.

The demand letter notes that “this is not the first time Clark County schools have engaged in such conduct.” The reference is made to the 2015 federal lawsuit, Angelique Clark v. Clark County School District, et al., that compelled the school district to resolve discrimination against a student pro-life group at its West Career and Technical Academy.

“East Career and Technical Academy is discriminating against the Students for Life Club in contravention of federal law, and the school has failed to effectively remedy bullying of a leader of the club based on his pro-life viewpoint,” explained Thomas More Society Special Counsel Joan Mannix.

The letter details the breaches of First Amendment rights occurring against the East Career and Technical Academy’s Students for Life Club and Avila, its current vice president and former president. These violations of the United States and Nevada Constitutions include:

• Denial of permission for Students for Life Club to “chalk” messages on sidewalk and pavement areas, despite allowing extensive student “chalking” by others
• Refusal to allow Students for Life Club to distribute leaflets because they mentioned an outside organization (a pregnancy resource center), despite multiple references to outside organizations in flyers distributed by other student groups
• Rejection of Students for Life Club requests for visual graphic inclusion in the East Tech Times student newsletter, despite the inclusion of visual graphics promoting other student groups
• Censorship of Students for Life Club promotional materials that is clearly content based
• Refusal of a Students for Life Club attempt to hang a banner in an area of the school building in which other groups and individuals have been allowed to do so

“All of these instances of censorship and discrimination violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” said Mannix. “The Supreme Court has long recognized that students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate.”

“Perhaps the most distressing aspect of the entire situation is the blind eye that school administrators have turned to the bullying being committed against Felipe Avila,” Mannix added. “He has been stalked and threatened based on his pro-life views and leadership but the school has wholly failed to take effective steps to address the bullying.”

Avila sought assistance from Students for Life of America, a national organization that provides support to student pro-life clubs. At the organization’s request, Thomas More Society attorneys sent a demand letter to the East Career and Technical Academy and the Clark County School District formally challenging administration discrimination against the club as a violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Mannix added: “Having opened a forum inviting speech, it is illegal for high school administrators to censor students based on disagreement with their viewpoint. Instead, they should encourage students to exercise their free speech rights. We hope that Superintendent Jara and Principal Taylor quickly recognize the unconstitutional nature of their actions against the Students for Life Club.”

Read the letter sent to East Career and Technical Academy administrators, dated February 16, 2022, and addressed to Dr. Jesus F. Jara, superintendent of the Clark County School District, and Trish Taylor, principal at East Career and Technical Academy, by Thomas More Society attorneys, Re: Bullying Of ECTA Past President And Current Vice-President Of Students For Life Club And Discrimination Against ECTA Students For Life Club here.