MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Minnesota ACLU Sues Detroit Lakes Schools Over Ban on Rainbow and Safe-Space Displays

DETROIT LAKES, MN (September 24, 2026). Two students have sued Detroit Lakes Public Schools and four School Board members, alleging that the district’s restrictions on rainbow flags and safe-space stickers violate the Minnesota Constitution and state civil-rights law.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and Minneapolis law firm Lockridge Grindal Nauen filed the case Tuesday in Becker County District Court.

The lawsuit alleges that the district’s restriction violates students’ rights to freedom of expression and equal protection. It also claims that singling out rainbow imagery constitutes unlawful discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity under the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

The allegations have not been decided by the court.

One plaintiff is identified as L.S., a Detroit Lakes High School student who leads the Detroit Lakes Queer Community, previously known as the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. L.S. is participating in the lawsuit through the student’s mother, Amber Estenson, a Minnesota content creator known publicly as That Midwestern Mom.

The second student has not been publicly identified.

The case grew out of a School Board action in July targeting rainbow pride flags, stickers and other displays used to identify welcoming or safe spaces for LGBTQ students.

The lawsuit also alleges that four board members violated Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law by privately communicating and reaching an agreement before introducing and voting on the restriction. According to the complaint, the proposal was not included on the public agenda, and two board members who opposed it did not receive the language before the meeting began.

The ACLU obtained text messages exchanged among board members through a public-data request and cited those communications in its complaint.

Deputy Legal Director Catherine Ahlin-Halverson said the organization believes the restriction has already discouraged students from expressing support for LGBTQ classmates and from speaking openly about their identities.

Superintendent Mark Jenson said the district administration had not ordered employees to remove materials while the School Board continued working on its policy. Four board members named as defendants had not issued responses to the allegations at the time of the initial report.

The board learned that the lawsuit had been filed while members were meeting Tuesday to discuss possible replacement language for the district’s policy governing nonschool-sponsored materials.

The case could establish important guidance for Minnesota school districts attempting to regulate classroom displays while remaining subject to state constitutional protections, open-government requirements and the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
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