During a regular meeting on Wednesday, the Florida State Board of Education agreed with Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas in finding probable cause that the Alachua County School Board violated a parent’s First Amendment rights, as well as Florida law, at a heated school board meeting on July 31.
The board unanimously approved a recommendation by Kamoutsas that will require School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) members to undergo training on free-speech policies and follow these guidelines for the remainder of the 2025-26 school year, according to the order issued by the state board.
The school board has 48 hours from receiving the order to accept the policies, undergo training and inform the state board of its compliance. Failure to do any of the above could result in pay cuts.
Jeremy Clepper was among more than 30 public commentators who had signed up to speak at the July 31 meeting in reference to a comment board Chair Sarah Rockwell made on her personal Facebook account about the July 24 death of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan.
“Oh did Hulk die? I didn’t even know. Good. One less MAGA in the world,” Rockwell’s comment said.
While most of the community members at the July 31 meeting spoke in support of Rockwell, a few, including Clepper, offered differing remarks.
Clepper told Rockwell she should resign if she has “a shred of integrity.” He concluded his remarks by calling her a “disgusting, vile human being.”
Vice Chair Tina Certain, who was moderating the meeting at the time, called for Clepper to be removed from the meeting after his comments caused an uproar from the audience. However, Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) Attorney David Delaney recommended that Clepper not be removed from the meeting room.
Clepper ultimately left of his own accord with Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies around him.
During the public comment portion of Wednesday’s standing-room-only meeting in St. Augustine, Clepper briefly addressed the July 31 meeting.
“I stood up, as any father would, to speak out,” he said. “And in a school board meeting is where people are supposed to go and share their grievances, unless you don’t agree with them. All I simply said to the audience was that if you want to get up and speak, go sign up and speak. And that’s when they were saying I was threatening Rockwell.”
Just days after the contentious July 31 meeting, Kamoutsas sent a letter to Rockwell, claiming she violated Clepper’s constitutional rights.
“After a parent expressed his protected opinion under the First Amendment, you sat idly by while the police were directed to escort this parent out of the school board meeting for expressing a conservative viewpoint,” Kamoutsas wrote in the Aug. 1 letter. “Not only did you allow a parent’s constitutional rights to be violated under your leadership, but the rest of the board stood by silently, failing to stop it.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, Kamoutsas said the board violating First Amendment and parental rights has become a “persistent problem.”
Kamoutsas showed three short video clips of past school board meetings – including one from the July 31 meeting – in which he claimed First Amendment rights were violated. The third clip showed a board member asking for a commentator to be removed after he called for the resignation of former Superintendent Carlee Simon.
“When the government creates a designated public forum, such as a school board meeting, to facilitate the speech of citizens, it is unconstitutional for it to unreasonably restrict that speech,” Kamoutsas said, adding federal courts have confirmed this in Moms for Liberty versus Brevard County Schools.
Rockwell attended Wednesday’s meeting via Zoom due to recovery from surgery. She updated the state board on what corrective actions the school district has taken to restore parents’ rights in the Alachua County School District.
“I agree with the commissioner and the Board of Education that protecting the First Amendment rights of all individuals is of the utmost importance,” she said over Zoom. “I am committed to continuing to protect the First Amendment rights of every person in my community.”
In line with that commitment, Rockwell said the board recently updated its public comment policy “based on the findings in the Moms for Liberty versus Brevard County Schools case.” She added that the board also held a workshop on Aug. 13 to “ensure continued fair and consistent application” of the policy.
Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.
