A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction to a woman who sued the Gardner Edgerton School District after she was barred from district facilities following an incident in which she sent photos of signage on a teacher’s classroom to the prominent social media account Libs of TikTok.
The judge’s order allows Carrie Schmidt, a mother of two children in the Gardner Edgerton district, to once again attend school events and set foot on school property without administrators’ express permission.
Schmidt was banned from entering school facilities after an incident on Feb. 3 in which she took photos of a Gardner Edgerton High School teacher’s classroom outside of school hours, including an image of a sticker that said “Safe Space for All” and a flyer promoting the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance.
She then sent the pictures to Libs of TikTok, an account known for posting often inflammatory and derogatory messages about LGBTQ issues. Libs of TikTok reposted one of Schmidt’s images that showed the teacher’s name and also tagged Gardner Edgerton High School and demanded the school’s funding be cut.
In a letter to Schmidt in early February informing her that she would not be allowed back on campus without permission, Superintendent Brian Huff said Schmidt’s actions were “clearly intentional and designed to bully, intimidate and harass the teacher.”
In her lawsuit, Schmidt argued such displays like the ones she took pictures of violate President Donald Trump’s executive order issued in January that aims at “ending radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling.”
Judge Eric Melgren, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas, said the district overreacted in barring Schmidt from campus, violating her constitutional rights.
Still, in his order, Melgren noted that the restrictions on Schmidt could be reimposed if she “engages in public disruptive conduct” in the future. He also noted that she does not have free rein to “wander off into restricted areas” of the school.
Schmidt took the judge’s order as a victory.
“I am heartbroken that my school district superintendent has decided to use me as his poster child in opposing President Trump’s K-12 Executive Order,” Schmidt told the Post after a hearing Thursday, March 20. “No one pays me to fight for our children.”
Schmidt’s picture ended up on Libs of TikTok
Schmidt filed a 70-page lawsuit on Feb. 14, a day after Huff sent the letter restricting Schmidt’s access to campus.
The lawsuit names Huff, school board Vice President Greg Chapman and Gardner Edgerton High School Principal Frank Bell as defendants.
Schmidt’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas, argues her First Amendment right to free speech and Fourteenth Amendment right to due process and equal protection were violated.
Schmidt has tussled with district officials and school board members for years over her frequent challenges to books and library materials in Gardner Edgerton schools.
Her two children both attend Gardner Edgerton High School, and she was at the school on the evening of Feb. 3 to make snack packs for her son’s wrestling team.
She admitted to wandering the school’s halls that evening, including making her way up to the second floor where she entered a teacher’s classroom and took photos.
“I wanted to see what the kids were seeing,” Schmidt said. “I was not told where to go and where I couldn’t go.”
Schmidt took photos of posters and stickers depicting rainbow colors, including a sticker that said “Safe Space for All” and “Ally”.
After Libs of TikTok posted one of Schmidt’s images, the post was bombarded with comments, some of them threatening and harassing the teacher whose name was visible in the image, with some suggesting the teacher should kill themselves.
Overall, the post on the Libs of TikTok account was viewed more than 106,000 times.
President Trump’s order, issued on Jan. 29, directs the U.S. Department of Education to stop funding and supporting education “based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.”
“The ‘Safe Space’ sticker violated the order,” Schmidt said.
Judge Melgren at times during Thursday’s hearing appeared to grow frustrated with Schmidt, telling her several times that she needed to “stop playing games” and that he was tired of hearing about President Trump’s executive order.
Schmidt said the photos she took were for her documentation. When she sent the photos to Libs of TikTok, she said she didn’t know which photos would be posted online and didn’t have editorial control over the site.
“When I sent them in, it was just like when I speak to other news (outlets) concerned about what my kids are exposed to,” Schmidt said.
Judge says district “overreacted”
Huff, the superintendent, said in his letter to Schmidt on Feb. 13 that she had violated the district’s anti-bullying policies, and her access to school functions and property-including school board meetings would be limited.
At Thursday’s hearing, Melgren said he was “puzzled” by Huff’s letter. Schmidt, the judge pointed out, had not had direct contact with the teacher whose classroom she took photos of, and he said he had seen no evidence showing her intention to bully the teacher.
Melgren also noted the photos Schmidt took were in a public part of the school with unrestricted access.
Huff argued the district was responsible for the safety and security of all school grounds, along with protecting staff and students from bullying.
Huff told the Post the district wants the public in their schools and trusts visitors who come on campus. However, a “rational” person knows the spaces they are allowed in at school buildings.
“(Most) people are mindful of private places,” he said. “We are welcoming campus for parents.”
Melgren said the school district was “thin-skinned” about being challenged by Schmidt, and the district only had the right to control access to school property and activities if behavior is disruptive.
“The school district overreacted,” Melgren said.
Melgren said the district’s requirement that Schmidt request permission to be on district grounds goes against her liberties, though he also noted the district does have a right to control access to some locations and he enjoined Schmidt from wandering freely throughout the school.
“It doesn’t give her the right to be disruptive, even though she hasn’t been,” Melgren said. “But I do have a hard time believing she didn’t know she wasn’t trespassing.”
In addition to not being allowed to go into restricted areas, the judge also ordered Schmidt not to have contact with the teacher whose classroom Schmidt took pictures of.
The intent of the restrictions put on Schmidt, Huff said, was to create the “safest environment possible” and make boundaries clear.
The teacher whose classroom Schmidt took pictures of attended Thursday’s hearing. Both the teacher and school district had no comment after the ruling.
“The people that attack me without knowing what is going on is something I guess I have to bear,” Schmidt said. “Whatever persecution from others ignorant of what is at stake is a price I am willing to make.”
Community, parents rally around teacher
Over the last three years, Schmidt has been a frequent presence at school board meetings, requesting reviews of dozens of books in Gardner Edgerton schools.
It started with her challenge of Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” in September 2022, a book brought to her attention through her children’s class curriculum.
She has frequently argued against certain books she says are inappropriate for school, oftentimes based on their sexual content and violence. Many of the books she has challenged feature LGBTQ themes and characters.
Schmidt’s challenge of the book “Lily and Dunkin” — a young adult novel featuring a transgender character — led the school board last December to remove a copy of the book permanently from a school library’s shelves.
In addition to being barred from district facilities, Schmidt was also kicked off the Educational Services Advisory Committee which advises the district on literature and classroom materials to be used in classrooms. (Melgren’s order upheld the district’s decision to remove Schmidt from the committee.)
Soon after Schmidt’s photo appeared on the Libs of TikTok account, citizens, parents and staff spoke out at the February school board meeting.
Former board member Kristin Schultz said the social media post was a clear attack against a “beloved” teacher. Schultz then proceeded to read comments the Libs of TikTok post received suggesting the school should lose funding and the teacher imprisoned.
“As social media is known to do, posts like these take on a life of their own,” Schultz said. “Which is why they are so absolutely thoughtless and incredibly dangerous to those they target.”
Schulz said actions like Schmidt’s are causing educators in the district to leave “at an alarming rate.”
“How many will we have to lose because they have been persecuted simply for wanting their students to feel safe and accepted,” Schultz said at the February board meeting.
At the same meeting, Amy Gilbertson defended the teacher whose classroom Schmidt had taken pictures of, saying her child was lucky to be placed in the teacher’s class.
“She values kindness and places that value and expectation on every single child that enters her classroom,” Gilbertson said.
Board Vice President Greg Chapman, who was ultimately named in Schmidt’s lawsuit, said in February that nobody should have to go through what the teacher went through with the Libs of TikTok post.
“While I may not agree with [the] signage, I think all of our teachers are very loving and caring,” he said. “It’s absolutely phenomenal this teacher cares that much, and unfortunately, they are paying a pretty hefty price.”
Board President Tom Reddin noted all the board members had been attacked at some point during their tenure.
“But we ran for this position and can somewhat expect it,” he said. “When students and staff get attacked because of their opinions—it is shameful and unacceptable.”
