At the May 2025 school board meeting the Cameron, MO board of eduction appeared to dismiss the concerns of local resident Heath Gilbert when he asserted the school district is violating the 1st Amendment protections for freedom of speech. Gilbert asserts the deviations from district policy requiring residents to make their home address and cell number a public record as a condition of addressing the board both compel and chill free speech.
In what could be described as a violation of their oath of office to the constitutions of Missouri and the United States, the entire board of education appear to have dismissed those concerns and showed support for the efforts by the district and Superintendent Matt Robinson. What are those new requirements and how do they violate the 1st Amendment?
The cause of this claim for 1st Amendment violations revolves around a “form” the district requires everyone to complete as a condition of being able to exercise ones right to address the board during a public meeting. We will discuss the form next.
Details about the districts “form”
When a member of the public makes the required request to address the board of eduction they are provided with a link to an online form. The school district requires this form to be completed as a condition of being granted permission to speak to the board. Failing to complete any portion of this form will result in a denial to address the school board.
The district requires residents provide their name, email address, cell phone number and home address before asking for details on what you want to discuss. They also require you to offer a solution to the stated issue.
Failure to complete any portion of the form, or to complete it accurately, will result in a denial of being added to the agenda to address the board.
Is the “form” part of school policy?
Absolutely not. The board policy and requirements for being added to the agenda to address the board are outlined in policy C-140-P. There is no mention of “form” in that policy or any requirement to make one’s name, address and phone number a public record as a condition of addressing the board.
The policy does require everyone to meet with the superintendent as a condition of addressing the board, but Superintendent Matt Robinson refuses to hold those meetings. The board ignores staff not following board policy and refuses to instruct him to follow policy and hold those meetings, as required in current policy.
Cameron schools compel speech of residents
As of December 2024, the Cameron school district began to compel anyone wishing to address the board to make their home address and cell phone numbers a public record as a condition of speaking to the board. Because of the Missouri sunshine law, any addresses, phone numbers or other information submitted to the district as a condition of speaking to the board becomes a public record.
The school district is required by law to make that personal information submitted via the “form” available to anyone who requests it. The school district and board of education are comfortable with making your personal information available to public. Requiring one to speak or telling them what they must say is compelled speech and a clear 1st Amendment violation.
Can public schools or governmental bodies compel speech?
Absolutely not. The Cameron school district and board of education are governmental bodies subject to compelled speech restrictions. Fortunately there are several Supreme Court cases where they have weighed in and offered opinions on compelled speech. Examples of these opinions include the infamous cake baker Jack Phillips out of Colorado. He was sued multiple times for refusing to bake various cakes which violated his religious belief. To force him to bake a cake would be compelled speech.
You can read examples of Supreme Court cases describing the dangers of compelled speech in this article by Neal Hardin. Compelled speech is dangerous and a violation of the 1st Amendment.
How is the Cameron school district chilling speech?
The same form and the requirement to disclose personal information can cause someone to not address the board out of fear of reprisal or retaliation. The Cameron school districts requirement to make personal information a public record can cause someone to not exercise their freedom of speech out of fear of reprisal or retaliation. That is chilled speech.
Here is a real life example. At the December 2023 school board meeting the book topic was on the school board meeting agenda here in Cameron. Concerned members of the public spoke against the books and their sexually explicit adult content being made available to children. Three school staff members addressed the board in favor of those books. One teacher referred to the efforts of the men who were leading the opposition of those books as a circus, implying they are clowns. She used strong language implying that racism, bigotry and misandry were the root causes of any issues with the books. Would she still be willing to call out those men and book review committee and once again make those same accusations knowing they could obtain her home address and cell phone number?
Or is it more likely that this teacher would be concerned one of those men would contact her on her cell phone or show up at her front door after implying they were clowns. Would she be willing to use the same language as she had previously back in December, or would she be compelled to use softer language or not mention them at all? The intellectually honest answer is anyone would likely soften their statements to the Cameron school board or choose not to address them at all out of concern of harassment or threats by someone who doesn’t like what they said.
This is what chilling speech looks like. And your Cameron R-1 schools board of education supports the actions of the district which compels speech, chills speech and does not align with school policy. They ban members of the public for not following policy but ignore and excuse when staff do the same.
What is the cause of these new restrictions on free speech?
We can only speculate as neither the district or board of education have explained the deviation from policy. To put it simply, they want to control what information is shared with the community at these board meetings about the school. This is an attempt to control or limit what is said.
A quick look at the new Rules of Decorum for the district and you will see that the district has granted itself the right to terminate the designated public forum time allotted for a member of the public if they bring up something that is not on their form. See the seconded bulleted item in number 2 of the Decorum Rules document.
To further speculate, I would guess it stems from the November 2024 board meeting where resident Heath Gilbert used the veil of body worn cameras to bring up alleged incidents of sexual assault of students at the elementary school and on a school bus. You can see that video below.
Final closing statement statement
Each Cameron school district board member swore an oath to the constitutions of the state of Missouri and these United States. The new requirement that forces residents, teachers and students to make their phone numbers and home address a public record is compelling speech. This practice can and has chilled speech because residents don’t want to make that information a public record. Chilled and compelled speech are both clear violations of the 1st Amendment. For the board members to support these blatant violations is also a clear violation of their oaths of office. How can we trust the actions and words of these board members if they don’t take one of our nations most sacred oaths seriously?
Please consider peacefully contacting your elected school board members and urge them to honor their oaths and stop this madness. The email address for the board can be found on their webpage or you can email the entire board directly at boardofeducation@cameronschools.org