[ACLU-NM] ACLU Defends Bilingual Education Advocate in Lawsuit by
School Superintendent
Kimberly Lavender
aclunmpa at swcp.com
Thu Aug 19 10:33:04 MDT 2004
~ ACLU-NM NEWS RELEASE ~
For Immediate Release
August 19th, 2004
Contact: Peter Simonson, ACLU-NM Executive Director,
266-4622 (cell 620-0775)
Jane Gagne, ACLU-NM Co-Legal Director
265-6199
ACLU Defends Bilingual Education Advocate in Lawsuit by School
Superintendent
Albuquerque--The ACLU of New Mexico is defending a Navajo advocate for
bilingual education against a lawsuit filed by the superintendent for
Central Consolidated School District (CCSD), Linda Besett. The lawsuit
accuses Harry Descheenie of defamation for an op-ed he wrote that was
published in the Farmington newspaper, The Daily Times, on October 22, 2003.
Descheenies op-ed discussed federal, state, and Navajo Nation law regarding
the education of Navajo children, and particularly the federally-funded
program under which participating schools, through a contract with the
Navajo Nation, must assist teaching Navajo children the Navajo language.
Descheenies op-ed criticized CCSD for its continued failure to comply with
those requirements. Descheenie, President of the Gadii'ahi Chapter of the
Navajo Nation, is on the Indian Education Committee of the Central
Consolidated School District. Under federal law, the Committee is empowered
to oversee the districts contract regarding education programs for Navajo
students.
Besetts lawsuit has no merit. It appears designed for one purpose only:
to stop people like Harry Descheenie from criticizing Besett and the School
District, ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson said. Frankly, Im
shocked that a high ranking school official would initiate such obvious
chicanery.
On Wednesday, ACLU-NM Co-Legal Director Jane Gagne filed in federal court a
motion to dismiss Bessetts lawsuit for failure to meet requirements under
First Amendment law for defamation claims by public officials in response to
statements about matters of public concern. The motion asks the court to
dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice.
The bedrock of the First Amendment is the right to criticize public
officials, Gagne said. Nothing in Descheenies article is defamatory.
The article isnt even directed at the superintendent, but at the district
as a governmental entity. The First Amendment prohibits exactly the kind of
lawsuit this is: back-door official censorship. Besett has no legitimate
basis for her claim.
Descheenie is named as a Third-party defendant, along with The Daily Times.
Besett filed her suit as part of a broader suit against Besett, the CCSD
School Board, and certain of its members by current and former employees of
CCSD who allege that they were retaliated against for criticizing CCSDs
lack of commitment to the Navajo bilingual program, CCSDs noncompliance
with Navajo education requirements, and CCSDs use of Navajo education
program funds.
Attorney Gagne said, This is not an abstract issue for Harry. The concept
of free speech is particularly important for him, in more ways than one.
When he was 6 years old, he was sent to a mission school until he was 17.
He spoke only Navajo, but over the years, the language was literally beaten
out of him. Today, as an adult with a child in CCSD, the preservation of
the Navajo culture and language for Navajo children is an issue that hits
very close to home. The ACLU is proud to help make sure that he and others
will feel free to attain that goal.
###
Kimberly Lavender
Public Education Coordinator, ACLU-NM
PO Box 80915
Albuquerque, NM 87198
www.aclu-nm.org
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