Question: Can a Principal Ban a parent over PTO Issue

My wife has been banned from being a room parent and assorted other school events based on a PTO issue. This is in regards to being in charge of the elementary school yearbook. There is nothing in the PTO bylaws for principal approval (although she did ask her to review it many times but she said she didn't have time to do that) and is trying to punish my wife because a handful of parents were unhappy with a superalatives section after the fact. There are no superlatives that are derogatory in any way.

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Hi there,
This sounds like a situation that could be resolved if there was a sit down meeting with your wife and the principal to discuss what happened and to come up with a way to move forward that makes sense. We can't really say if the principal can or can not "ban" a parent.

Rose

Community Advice

Mondesi writes:
I guess my question is have you ever heard of a similar circumstance where a parent has been banned from a school for an offense that is not related to harassment or a danger to the school population?

We would have preferred to handle this with with the principal but she threw the document in front of us without notice.

We have the ACLU looking at the case and they are interested in taking it.

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Hi Mondesi, I can't say for sure if we have never heard of a case like this. It sounds like something that has upset both your and your wife and that's really too bad, especially if your wife would like to volunteer next year. Each circumstance is unique, so we can't really comment on this particular case. We hope you have good luck in getting it resolved in a way that works best for everyone.

Rose

Community Advice

Supermom_kinda writes:
Just to offer another perspective. The ban maybe temporary in that your wife may have caused some issues within the school, shifting the focus from a learning environment. They may feel like there is hostility towards your wife (or your wife has shown towards them), and feel it is better to ask one person to step away for a bit then to try to ask several others.
I would really evaluate if your wife's hands are clean in all of this. Did she say anything negative about anyone else in PTO or the staff at the school? It may have not been the yearbook as the reason why she was asked to volunteer less, but maybe some public expression against someone(s) in the school.