A judge has dismissed a Norwin school director’s lawsuit claiming the school district and a former superintendent violated his First Amendment rights.
But the judge gave Norwin School Director Alex Detschelt a chance to file an amended complaint if he does so soon, and Detschelt said he plans to take him up on it.
Detschelt had been criticized by school district officials for posting a political meme using a sexually explicit term and an insensitive term for a mental health condition in describing then- Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.
On Dec. 20, U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy in Pittsburgh dismissed the lawsuit that Detschelt filed in August 2023 against the district and former Superintendent Jeffrey Taylor. The judge ruled that Detschelt did not make a claim for which the court can grant him some type of relief.
But in his ruling, Hardy said that Detschelt could file an amended complaint by Jan. 10.
Hardy also dismissed the suit to the extent that Detschelt sought punitive damages against Norwin and Taylor, who now is the assistant superintendent of the Carlynton School District in the Crafton area. Taylor could not be reached for comment.
Russell Lucas, Norwin’s solicitor, declined to comment on the lawsuit because it is not the judge’s final order.
Detschelt, who is an attorney, said he will represent himself in a revised complaint he intends to file. He said he needs to include more details about the alleged violation of his First Amendment rights. Detschelt said that he still could receive compensatory damages if he wins the case.
The school district and Taylor, who left the district last year, were accused of violating Detschelt’s First Amendment rights when Taylor sent an email blast to residents stating that the political meme Detschelt posted about Fetterman in October 2022 contained offensive language not representative of Norwin.
Detschelt, a Republican, argued that he posted the meme as a private citizen in a political forum on social media against a Democratic candidate the U.S. Senate. Fetterman won the seat the following month.
Detschelt said he was engaged in constitutionally-protected private speech. He said he took down the meme when a parent objected to the derisive term about a person with mental health issues.
The school board majority did censure Detschelt for the meme, in a vote along political lines.
