Portland Public Schools rescinded its trespass order against an Oregon mother over her opposition to the district's gender curriculum, according to a legal group representing the parent.
In August, Allison Roberts sued Portland Public Schools after she expressed concern last year over Meriwether Lewis Elementary School's decision to repaint its traditional rainbow pride flag into an "Intersex-Inclusive Progress" variant to include support for racial inclusion and transgender rights.
Roberts also discovered an "identity flower" assignment given to her 11-year-old child that asked students to identify and discuss their gender identity with classmates and teachers.
After receiving what she described as an unsatisfactory response from the school, Roberts wrote an open letter to the community criticizing the school's policies, which she distributed on a public sidewalk outside school property.
The school later accused Roberts of "harassment, intimidation and threatening behavior" as part of a pattern of "animus and harassment targeting vulnerable members of [the] community." The district issued Roberts a one-year trespass order barring her from attending school events, including her child's graduation ceremony.
According to the Liberty Justice Center, which represented Roberts, Portland Public Schools agreed to several concessions before a scheduled hearing on Roberts’ motion for a preliminary injunction. These included rescinding her campus ban, exempting her children from certain LGBTQ2SIA+-related curriculum requirements and reviewing its nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policy.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Portland Public Schools confirmed the school district "agreed to rescind the trespass notice in mid-November."
"PPS has and will continue to comply with all laws that serve and protect children," the district's statement read.
Timothy Snowball, lead attorney for the Liberty Justice Center's PARENTS Initiative, called the concessions a "victory" and told Fox News Digital they were a sign of the school district recognizing that these actions were unconstitutional.
"The timing of this settlement is not a coincidence," he said. "Only two days before the negotiations started, the district was set on fighting Allison Roberts. But after an hour or two with a federal judge explaining to them why their conduct was unconstitutional, they immediately changed their plans.
"Just goes to show that the students aren’t the only ones in Portland who need an education on basic civics."
Another hearing on the district's policies is scheduled for Dec. 1 with a focus on policies Snowball said allow teachers to withhold information from parents.
"Portland Public Schools tried to silence a mother who dared to question what was happening in her children’s school. Now the district has agreed to withdraw its warning, rescind its campus ban and recognize her right to speak freely," Snowball said in a separate statement.
"This is a major victory, not just for Allison Roberts, but for every parent who has been told to stay quiet and leave these decisions to school officials," the statement continued.
"But the fight is not over. The district continues to defend policies that allow school officials, under certain circumstances, to withhold important information from parents about their own children.
"Parents have the fundamental right to direct their children’s upbringing and education. We intend to keep fighting until those rights are protected."
Roberts previously told Fox News Digital she had received widespread support for her legal efforts.
"It has been heartening to see the outpouring of support from my local Portland community and from parents and grandparents across the country," she said.
"I never wanted things to get to this point. But knowing that I'm fighting this battle not just for my family, but for millions of American families, reassures me that bringing this suit is the right thing to do."
Washington's secretary of state blasted the Justice Department Wednesday after federal officials said investigators had identified more than 400 noncitizens illegally registered to vote in the state, some of whom they said had cast ballots in multiple elections dating back decades.
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs pushed back against the findings, saying the state’s review of the list uncovered "several glaring deficiencies."
"This list includes United States citizens and is not reliable. Without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot," he said.
"That analysis reflects a significant number of people on your list who are not currently registered to vote or are on inactive status, contradicting your representations that all the individuals included in the list will receive a ballot in this year’s election," he added.
On Monday, the U.S. attorneys’ offices for the Eastern and Western districts of Washington said investigators had identified lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, who were registered to vote or had cast ballots.
"We have identified over 400 noncitizens who are registered to vote and have voted in multiple elections. This is only the tip of the iceberg," Neil Floyd, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, said in a statement.
"We will continue to investigate and identify those who are committing crimes by voting illegally."
Immigration officials told Fox News Digital Tuesday that dozens of noncitizens have also been arrested nationwide in a major voter fraud crackdown.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Floyd said investigators identified hundreds of noncitizen voters by reviewing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) records, which showed that some people who applied for certain benefits had also voted.
While some individuals voted only once or three times in past elections, Floyd said others voted as many as 27 times. In total, his office counted approximately 1,500 instances of noncitizens casting ballots.
He emphasized that some noncitizens had been voting for decades, predating Washington’s transition to a vote-by-mail system.
"I think the earliest moment we have is 1984," Floyd said. "It's early ‘90s, late ’80s, I believe."
However, Floyd said he had not checked whether any of the individuals voted in the upcoming midterms, explaining that he did not want to "interfere with the current election."
The number of potential noncitizen voters could represent only a fraction of the broader population, Floyd said, because the list includes only individuals who sought certain benefits in Washington state.
"If you take that population, and you expand it out to include all the people that are here illegally that we haven't had contact with, just my estimation is that it's going to be in the thousands," Floyd said.
Federal officials said many green card holders were registered to vote without their knowledge through Washington’s Motor Voter program, which integrates voter registration into the state’s Department of Licensing.
"We have heard from green card holders who were registered against their knowledge via the Washington Motor Voter program. Then they receive a ballot in the mail and assume they are legally registered — that simply is not the case," the notice said.
According to the Washington secretary of state’s website, eligible residents are automatically registered to vote only if they provide proof of U.S. citizenship during a driver’s license or ID card registration process.
Floyd said investigators identified patterns they believe contributed to noncitizens being registered to vote.
According to the DOJ notice, federal officials are asking Washington state to set aside ballots cast by the identified individuals until their citizenship status can otherwise be confirmed.
"Washington is now on notice that noncitizens are voting. It is up to the state to take action to make sure that they are not allowing these noncitizens to vote illegally," the notice said.
The move builds on DOJ's legal action against California, where federal officials are seeking to set aside mail-in ballots from roughly 20,000 voters they allege are likely noncitizens while their citizenship status is verified.
In response, the California secretary of state’s office said last week that its review "found significant accuracy problems with their sweeping claims."
"At best, this litigation is a reckless political stunt. At worst, it threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Californians this election. Plaintiff’s sole claim—that a federal criminal prohibition on individual noncitizen voting preempts large swaths of California’s election administration—borders on the absurd. The relief Plaintiff seeks is as unlawful as it is untenable," the statement said.
Officials warned that voting as a noncitizen can have serious consequences for those seeking to become U.S. citizens. Potential criminal charges include making false statements in a naturalization application, and some individuals could also face charges for fraudulent voter registration.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital numerous illegal aliens had also admitted to unlawfully registering to vote or casting ballots in U.S. elections.
Of the dozens of suspects arrested, at least 18 had voted in a federal election.
The individuals were from a range of countries, including Mexico, Somalia, Honduras, Guyana, Cuba, Germany, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Vietnam, El Salvador, Cambodia, Guatemala, Portugal and Italy.
Many also faced charges for numerous alleged crimes, including counterfeiting, fraud, kidnapping, DUI, sexual offenses, assault with a dangerous weapon, drug possession and burglary.
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