Police officers escorted a parent out of Monday's Katy ISD trustee meeting after she ignored warnings from the board president that she would not be allowed to speak on her concerns about the district's technology policies.
Attempting to address the board during the public comments portion of the June 20 meeting, Laurie McFarling asked why board President Joe Adams is refusing to meet one-on-one with her to discuss changes she thinks the district should make to keep young students, such as her son, from seeing inappropriate material online.
"I want you to look at me Mr. Adams," she said. "You need to look at me right now."
She also demanded an apology from Adams.
Adams said he would not allow her to speak further on the subject and that her time for speaking was up. When McFarling continued to raise her voice, saying she had a right to speak, Adams called for her to be removed.
As two large policemen approached her, she said, "Fine, I'll leave." As the men walked her out of the board room, she yelled out, "This is your freedom of speech, guys. You have to stand up for it or you won't have it."
Before the meeting began, McFarling gave the audience copies of two letters she said she received from Adams.
One was dated May 31, in which Adams said McFarling had "repeatedly and publicly demanded I meet with you so that you can educate me regarding the use of the Internet and other matters pertaining to the integration of digital tools into the educational environment."
But Adams said McFarling had failed to show why she is "the best source of information to influence technology-related decisions for the entire school district."
In the letter, Adams said he was basing his decision on the five public presentations McFarling made on technology during school board meetings. He said seven staff members had spoken to her at different times "attempting to respond to the expressed demands about your son. You have not been ignored."
Adams also listed in the letter seven changes the district has made to technology policies in response to McFarling's concerns. They include, wording on school enrollment cards now has more detail on parent consent for Internet and email use regarding the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, laws applying to children younger than 13.
Another change related to mandatory technology training for teachers now including age-restriction considerations, account setup procedures and overall best practices related to the age of students.
Multiple law firms specializing in school law also have been contacted to ensure the district's practices on Web 2.0 are legal and defensible, according to the letter.
In another letter to McFarling from Adams dated June 3, Adams states she is no longer allowed to speak on the topic in board meetings.
"Since your concerns have been heard by numerous staff and have been or are being addressed, there is no benefit to your addressing the board again on this topic," Adams said in the letter. Adams also stated the board is legally allowed to restrain the "number, length and frequency of presentations" in the public forum during board meetings.
But right after McFarling left the Monday meeting she said, "I will be back."
Adams was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.
Steve Stanford, Katy ISD spokesman, said the board was within its legal rights to remove McFarling.
"The behavior disrupted the meeting, which is a violation of law," he said.