ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 25, 2025
CONTACT: Lori Sanada
media@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Murrieta, CA — Today, Advocates for Faith & Freedom filed a formal notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Nielsen v. Ann Arbor Public Schools. The appeal challenges policies and actions of the Ann Arbor Public Schools and its employees that led to rejecting a student announcement of the Skyline Republican Club on the basis that it was political. Meanwhile, the school allowed other student clubs to use its public address system for student announcements advertising a voter guide and facilitated a political walk-out on school grounds—both promoting the opposing political viewpoint on the same issue. Plaintiffs had won a Temporary Restraining Order against Ann Arbor Public Schools after establishing that they were likely to succeed on their First and Fourteenth Amendment and Equal Access claims. The case, however, was later transferred to a different judge who ultimately ruled in favor of the Defendants. The notice of appeal initiates proceedings that could set precedent not only for students in Ann Arbor, Michigan but for students across the Sixth Circuit and the nation.
The case raises critical constitutional questions concerning free expression, equal access, and viewpoint neutrality in a public-school setting. By appealing, Plaintiffs seek reversal of the District Court’s ruling and clarification from the Sixth Circuit on the scope of the protections guaranteed to students and student organizations under federal law. “This case underscores the importance of ensuring that public schools, as government entities, adhere to constitutional standards and viewpoint neutrality,” says Erin Mersino, an attorney with Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “The First Amendment requires that schools allow differing viewpoints and political pluralism. And the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that students receive equal protection under the law. Silencing speech because it espouses a political viewpoint that does not align with one’s own is antithetical to our constitutional freedoms. Our appeal seeks to reaffirm those bedrock principles critical to a free society.”
###
Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.