The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is backing two Cobb County parents who say the school district silenced their criticism at a board meeting. The SPLC filed an amicus brief in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

The case matters to East Cobb families who attend board meetings and sign up for public comment. It could reshape how the district handles that process.

The dispute centers on the Sept. 14, 2023, Cobb Board of Education meeting. Jennifer Peterson and Melissa Marten, the two parent plaintiffs, had attended a "Replace Ragsdale" rally in the central office parking lot before the evening session. Both wore red "Replace Ragsdale" shirts.

The lawsuit, filed in November 2024, alleges that central office staff then altered the established sign-up procedure for public comment to knock critics out of line. Peterson and Marten both lost their speaking spots. Two people who had not been in the original line signed up and spoke in support of the district, according to Cobb County Courier reporting.

An open records request by Jennifer Susko, a rally coordinator, turned up Microsoft Teams messages showing staff members coordinating the line move after noting the number of "bad guys" waiting to speak.

The parents are seeking an injunction to prevent the district from manipulating sign-in procedures to limit viewpoints critical of the board. Seven district officials are named as defendants, including Superintendent Chris Ragsdale, Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer John Floresta, and Communications Director Julian Coca.

The district has denied the allegations. Its legal response argued that the lobby had become unsafe and that the sign-up location was moved at the last minute to better serve the public. The district also argued the plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege a First Amendment violation and that individual staff members are shielded by qualified immunity.

U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross rejected those arguments in April, denying the district's motion to dismiss and allowing the case to move forward. The SPLC's amicus brief, reported by the Marietta Daily Journal, adds national legal weight to the appeal now before the 11th Circuit.

"This has always been about our First Amendment rights and that means for everyone who wishes to speak at a meeting, no matter your viewpoint," Marten said in April after the motion to dismiss was denied. "I don't want anyone to experience what we experienced in September 2023."

The lawsuit comes amid broader tensions over public access to Cobb school board proceedings. The board's Republican majority voted in July 2024 to stop live-streaming or broadcasting the public comment portion of its meetings. Superintendent Ragsdale has called that a liability measure. Critics have called it censorship, according to MDJ reporting.

The specific legal arguments in the SPLC's brief and whether the district has responded to the filing were not available in public records as of publication.

The Cobb Board of Education meets Thursday, Sept. 17, with a work session at 2 p.m. and a voting session at 7 p.m. Public comment is on the agenda for both sessions.