The Duval County School Board is grappling with the limits of free speech — both when it comes to teachers’ social media posts and some controversial statements made by its own members during meetings and online.
Last week’s meeting began with a protest over teachers’ being investigated for social media posts and ended with police escorting out a parent after her shouting match with a school board member who was wearing a T-shirt that some attendees perceived as a political statement. Somewhere in between, the board approved paying to settle a lawsuit by a teacher the district disciplined years ago for politically charged social media posts.
Since then, social media activity by board member April Carney, which led to calls for her to resign, has kept the discussion going over who has the right to say what…