U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals: Marana Unified School District's First Amendment Policy

The First Amendment has long been a contentious area of law, especially when it comes to its application in public schools. While discussions over the inclusion of religious topics and materials, use of public property for religious purposes, or student and teacher speech may come to mind, today’s discussions are increasingly focused on school district policies that were developed to prevent harassment of teachers, administrators, and others by community members and parents.

On March 5, 2025, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on one such matter that arose from the Marana Unified School District (MUSD) in Hartzell v. Marana Unified School District. In this case, Rebecca Hartzell, whose children are enrolled at Dove Mountain K-8 CSTEM school, was banned from the school grounds after she allegedly assaulted the school principal, Andrea Divijak.

Hartzell has previously sought opportunities to get involved in volunteering at Dove Mountain, and she claimed that she was banned in retaliation for protected speech in which she repeatedly criticized the school district, Dove Mountain school, and school administrator. Divijak and MUSD argued that Hartzell was banned because of her conduct that violated school policy, namely that she assaulted Divijak.

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