A Kansas school district is facing serious constitutional allegations after administrators reportedly censored students for naming conservative figures as role models, prompting a legal demand for a federal civil rights investigation.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) announced it is representing students and parents at Marshall Elementary School in USD 389 in Eureka, Kansas, after what it describes as clear-cut violations of religious freedom, free speech, and parental rights.
The organization has formally called on the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Justice to launch a full investigation.
According to the ACLJ, the controversy stems from a sixth-grade classroom assignment called “Find Your Voice,” part of the school’s “Leader in Me” program.
Students were asked to identify role models or “heroes” and write their names on a whiteboard for class discussion.
That exercise allegedly turned into a lesson in censorship.
When one student identified Charlie Kirk as a role model, a guidance counselor named Kacey Countryman reportedly refused to allow the name on the board, stating that the late Turning Point USA founder was “not a hero.”
When a student teacher had already begun writing the name, the counselor ordered it erased.
Another student then identified President Donald Trump as a role model.
At that point, Countryman allegedly became even more upset, declaring that political or religious figures could not be listed at all.
Yet, according to the ACLJ, that restriction was applied selectively.
Football players were permitted as role models.
Classmates’ names were allowed.
No limitation was placed on secular or potentially controversial figures; only religious and conservative political figures were excluded.
“The cruel irony?” the ACLJ noted. “An assignment titled ‘Find Your Voice’ became a lesson in which voices would be silenced.”
The situation escalated further after parents raised concerns.
According to the legal filing, school administrators instructed sixth-grade students not to tell their parents about what had occurred in the classroom.
When confronted, the school’s so-called apology reportedly included telling students they should not inform their parents about similar issues in the future.
“This isn’t education. This is indoctrination,” the ACLJ said.
“And it’s a direct assault on the parent-child relationship.”
The organization argues that by creating a forum for student expression and then excluding conservative viewpoints, Marshall Elementary engaged in “textbook viewpoint discrimination.”
School officials reportedly justified their actions by claiming that citing figures like Kirk or President Trump could make the classroom “unsafe” or provoke disagreement.
But the ACLJ dismissed that rationale as unconstitutional.
“That is a classic heckler’s veto,” the legal team said, noting that discomfort or disagreement is not a lawful basis for suppressing protected speech in a public school.
The case now sits with federal authorities, as parents and legal advocates await a response from civil rights investigators.
For the ACLJ, the issue goes beyond one classroom.
“This should alarm every parent in America,” the organization warned, arguing that public schools cannot silence religious or conservative viewpoints while claiming to promote student expression.
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