Ian Prior explains why school boards get bad legal advice, what parents can do about it

Having spearheaded a highly effective parent coalition in Loudoun County, Virginia, Ian Prior knows just how hard it is to push back against the education establishment.

“One of the big problems that I’ve seen – not just here in Loudoun County but in schools everywhere – is the bad legal advice that they get from their attorneys,” he told Chris and Christine Stigall, cohosts of the Making the Leap podcast.

“[There are] even school board members that you think, ‘Well, this person is on our side,’ but then they say, ‘Well, the lawyers told us this.’”

Prior, who is also a senior advisor for America First Legal, explained school attorneys are often being thrust into legal arenas beyond their expertise.

Instead of dealing with special education compliance or other niche topics, they’re forced to address huge constitutional issues about whether transgender boys should be allowed to use girls’ restrooms or First Amendment questions about limiting public comment during school board meetings.

“We’re in this new ground of constitutional law and the attorneys, they’re just not constitutional lawyers,” Prior explained, noting many people are too quick to trust the so-called experts.  

“We always defer. We say, ‘Well, they went to school for it. They’re really smart. That person passed the bar,’” he observed. “[But] lots of people pass the bar. It’s not particularly hard.  

“There are lots of lawyers out there that aren’t very good at their job.” 

But even so, standing up to the education establishment is intimidating.  

“It is a tough thing to do because once you put yourself out there, the powers that support everything you’re against will come after you with a vengeance,” Prior explained. “So if you’re going to go challenge your local government organization, it cannot be willy-nilly, ‘I’m just going to show and say some impressive things.’ You need to have a game plan. 

“Think four steps ahead. ‘What’s going to happen if I do this, how do I respond, what do I do next?’”  

Now that more parents are making their voices heard, Prior thinks public school officials will be changing their strategy too. 

“What you’re seeing now is not so much that school districts are pulling back what they’re doing, they’re just not as vocal about it because they know that this is not going to go over well with the community,” he said. “They try to limit access. They try and do it behind closed doors.” 

But Prior thinks Americans deserve much more influence over public schools than they currently have. 

“If we are paying our money as taxpayers for that education, we should have more of a say in that education than simply electing nine or 10 or however many school board members who then proceed to ignore you for the next four years.” 

And one of the most important choices parents should be able to make for their kids’ education is the choice to leave, he says. 

“They make this push about equity. They say, ‘Equity, equity, equity. You shouldn’t be limited by your zip code.’ Well, I agree. You shouldn’t be limited by your zip code,” Prior concluded. “And if you’re in an area that has poorly performing schools, you should be able to take your money and go to somewhere that has a better school.”  

The Making the Leap podcast is produced by The Herzog Foundation, which also publishes The Lion.