Judge examines school board’s ‘privilege’ – Tallahassee Reports

From The Florida News Service

A federal judge will next week consider another attempt to bar members of the Escambia County school board from testifying about a decision to remove the children's book “And Tango Makes Three” from school libraries.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor is scheduled to hold a hearing on Sept. 4 on a motion for a preliminary injunction preventing school board members from testifying. Attorneys for the school district claim the school board members are protected from testifying by what's known as “legislative privilege.” The motion came after Winsor rejected an attempt to protect the school board members on July 10 — but said the school board could file a revised motion. The new motion was filed on July 24.

The book's co-authors, Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, and a student identified by the initials BG, are challenging the school district's removal of “And Tango Makes Three,” arguing that the decision violates First Amendment rights. In that context, the plaintiffs' attorneys have sought to remove members of the school board.

“And Tango Makes Three” tells the story of two male penguins raising a baby penguin at New York's Central Park Zoo. The lawsuit alleges, at least in part, that the book was deliberately intended to portray same-sex parents raising a child.