Plum man says school district banned him for speaking out against virtual learning

A Plum man is suing the school district and its solicitor, alleging they conspired against him when he objected to virtual schooling during the covid-19 pandemic.

Nathan O’Leath said in a federal lawsuit filed Friday he and his wife, Nicole O’Leath, have two children, 7 and 10. They said they had to move the children to a private school.

The suit names Plum Borough School District, as well as Bruce E. Dice & Associates and Dayne E. Dice, an attorney there, as defendants.

Messages left for the district and Dayne Dice were not immediately returned Monday.

According to the complaint, the school district implemented a hybrid instruction model in September, in which students have in-person classes twice per week and remote classes three days each week.

The O’Leaths believe the students would be better served by attending school in person full-time. They spoke out at a Jan. 26 school board meeting.

At that meeting, several parents objected to the hybrid system, including Nathan O’Leath.

“O’Leath expressed his dissatisfaction with the hybrid education model and chided the school board members for their failure to act in the best interests of the students, calling the board members ‘weak,’ ” the lawsuit said.

During his comments, it continued, O’Leath referred to the daughter of a previous person who spoke at the meeting. The lawsuit does not specify what O’Leath allegedly said.

After the meeting, the complaint contends the school conspired with Dice to retaliate against O’Leath for his comments.

“O’Leath has been advised that, after the meeting, the members of the board conducted a private meeting (either in person or by phone) which included defendant Dice,” the lawsuit said.

O’Leath alleges, during that meeting, the school board voted to retaliate against O’Leath by filing criminal charges against him for harassment and to ban him from school property.

The lawsuit also alleges the board decided to remove O’Leath’s comments from the video recording of the meeting.

According to the lawsuit, a school board member also called the state child abuse hotline and accused O’Leath of “harassment” of the previous speaker’s daughter. Then, on Jan. 28, a Plum police officer went to that woman’s home and asked if she was willing to press charges, the lawsuit said.

She declined.

On Feb. 4, Dice sent O’Leath a letter, accusing him of having “accosted a child” through his statements at the Jan. 26 meeting.

The letter advised O’Leath he is banned from school property.

“Stated again, if you should enter or remain at any properties owned by the Plum Borough School District, you will be criminally charged with defiant trespass,” the letter said.

No such charges appear in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas docket system.

The lawsuit alleges the O’Leaths were forced to move their children to private school because of the harassment caused by the district and solicitor.

The complaint includes claims for First Amendment retaliation, a violation of procedural due process, defamation and conspiracy to violate the O’Leaths’ civil rights.