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Public commenters clash with board over profanity policy and library materials; trustees urged to follow complaint process
Summary
Three speakers at the March 24 Lawrence Board of Education meeting criticized the board’s enforcement of an obscene‑language policy for public commenters and pointed to explicit language appearing in district library books.
Three speakers who participated in the meeting’s public‑comment period criticized the board’s rules on obscene language and compared enforcement of speaker decorum to books available in district libraries.
Justin Speese, who identified himself during the meeting as a public commenter, opened the series of comments by accusing a board member of calling him “crazy” at a prior meeting and then used profanity while arguing the board’s decorum enforcement was inconsistent with books available to students. "I think to myself, what the f u c k?" Speese said in the recorded remarks.
A second commenter who identified herself as Carrie read extended passages from several district library titles that include explicit language and urged the board to address what she called a hypocrisy in enforcing decorum for speakers while those same words appear in books available to minors. Carrie read verbatim passages with repeated instances of a common expletive from titles in the district collection.
A third remote commenter, identified on the record as Michael, also challenged the board’s enforcement during his remarks and interspersed profanity while asking for clarification of which words are permitted.
Board President Kelly and staff reminded the public of the district’s formal procedures for complaints about books and policies (board policies GAE and KN were mentioned in the meeting materials) and said that parents who wish to challenge library materials can follow the established process. The district clerk referenced the complaint procedures and invited commenters to use the formal process if they had specific book challenges.
No board action was taken during the public‑comment period. The board’s public comment rules instruct speakers to avoid threatening language and obscene words because students may be present; the district also said it provides a formal complaint route for concerns about library materials and curriculum.
