Judge advances former Colorado principal’s lawsuit against district over free speech, student safety

An attempt by Denver Public Schools (DPS) to dismiss an impending lawsuit has been denied, leading the former principal who sued the district to argue the ruling validates his decision to criticize school safety policies.

“As a whistleblower, I had a right to share with my community my concern for a policy that I believe was jeopardizing the safety of students and staff at my school and schools across our school district,” Kurt Dennis told The Colorado Sun, adding he believed the district violated his right to free speech.

“The judge has affirmed our belief that in doing so, I had First Amendment rights and that whistleblowers are protected for a reason. And our hope is that we get justice.”

Dennis, 52, had been fired in 2023 after questioning the district’s approach to safety on local media. The interview happened two days after Austin Lyle, a 17-year-old East High School student, shot two administrators and then committed suicide. 

“A couple days after the shooting at East High School — where staff were using the same pat-down procedure on the student who became the shooter — Dennis expressed his concerns with the district’s pat-down policy on camera with 9News,” Erica Breunlin wrote. 

“He detailed his frustration over the district’s decision to keep the student posing a risk to his school on campus.” 

‘A high level of concern’ 

Dennis and his team had determined in early 2023 that one of his students presented “a high level of concern,” according to the lawsuit. 

After the student had been charged with possession of an illegal firearm, the Denver Police Department had also concluded he “posed a danger to the school community” and should not attend campus. 

The student was later charged with attempted murder after shooting a clerk on duty at a liquor store, according to Denver7. 

However, the district denied Dennis’ request for the student to enroll in an online education program. Even after Dennis tried expelling the student, the district overruled him. 

“DPS objected, arguing that because the student’s actions took place off campus, the student should be allowed to continue their education at McAuliffe International School, according to the lawsuit,” Breunlin wrote. 

In requesting the lawsuit to be dismissed, the district had argued Dennis had violated student privacy rights by giving 9News redacted records and was not protected under free speech laws. 

However, U.S. District Judge John Kane rejected this argument by saying nondisclosure provisions under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) apply to institutional policies, not individuals. 

“Even if FERPA did make an individual’s actions unlawful, based on the record before me, the information disclosed by Mr. Dennis is not covered by the Act,” Kane wrote in his ruling. 

Kane also dismissed the district’s reasoning that Dennis had been speaking in his official capacity as a principal to media outlets. 

“Mr. Dennis’s speech was not limited to a McAuliffe- or DPS-specific audience,” he wrote. “Instead, the intended audience for his speech was the general public via a public news channel. His message, while school related, was the type of criticism a non-government employee, i.e., a private citizen, could make and was made in a forum — a local news channel — available to a private citizen.”