DENVER — A federal judge has ordered Denver Public Schools to stop enforcing the district's ban on Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy Founder Brandon Pryor.
In October, district leaders sent Pryor a letter informing him that he was banned from all school property.
The district accused Pryor of “repeated abusive, bullying, threatening, and intimidating conduct directed at staff of Denver Public Schools” and cited Pryor’s social media posts.
Pryor filed a lawsuit against the district over the ban and said district leaders were violating his freedom of speech.
“A civil rights claim, basically saying that DPS retaliated against me, based on my use of the First Amendment,” Pryor said.
Pryor, who served as a mentor, volunteer, and coach said the past few months since the ban has been in place have been difficult.
“I spent every day, you know, up until that point, at the Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy, engaged with students, faculty, working to, you know, bring resources to the school, working as a football coach. So, I was extremely disappointed by DPS’s decision,” Pryor said.
Recently, a judge found that Pryor “is likely to succeed on the merits of his First Amendment retaliation claim against Defendants Superintendent Marrero and Deputy Smith and that the balance tips in favor of issuing a limited preliminary injunction.”
The judge’s ruling went on to direct DPS to stop enforcing "the terms of the letter written by DPS General Counsel Aaron Thompson dated October 18, 2022, and are further ENJOINED from taking any other retaliatory action against Mr. Pryor, his family, or the STEAM Academy for pursuing this lawsuit.”
“I feel completely justified and vindicated," Pryor said. "The judge saw what the people saw and what we saw, you know, that there was no reason for this ban."
Pryor said this isn’t the end of the lawsuit.
“I'm looking for full relief for what DPS has done, infringing upon my First Amendment free speech rights. And I'm looking for accountability for the school district as well," he said. "I'm completely disappointed in the DPS Board of Education. They have one employee under their purview, and that's Dr. Alex Marrero superintendent, and he is a named defendant in his professional and personal capacity as it relates to his actions as a superintendent of the school district. He's a named defendant in federal court, and not one of the board members showed up to court.”
Pryor said as the lawsuit continues, he’s looking forward to returning to Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy and serving students.
Denver7 reached out to Denver Public Schools for comment but has not received a response.