MONTGOMERY, AL — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined a 17-state coalition supporting South Carolina’s law that restricts public schools from using materials or curricula that the state deems racially or sexually divisive. The coalition filed an amicus brief in an ongoing federal lawsuit, in which plaintiffs argue the law violates First Amendment rights.
The South Carolina NAACP, two authors, a teacher, and several students are challenging the law, claiming it suppresses speech and access to educational materials. The attorneys general, however, argue that decisions regarding educational content in public schools fall within the authority of elected officials and constitute government speech, not compelled speech.
“Public schools are funded by the public to serve the public’s interest,” said Attorney General Marshall. “Many of these schools have been using taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate children in divisive and destructive radical ideologies. States have the constitutional authority to put a stop to that sort of indoctrination.”
The coalition’s brief asserts that citizens cannot use the First Amendment to compel publicly funded schools to adopt specific curricula or stock particular books. It further argues that the law does not ban individuals from accessing the materials elsewhere, but limits their use in taxpayer-funded institutions.
Led by South Carolina, the coalition includes attorneys general from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. The states are urging the court to deny the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction and dismiss the lawsuit.
