Wyoming Republicans are crying foul after a high school student said her school treats her Turning Point USA Club America chapter unfairly and blocks them from engaging in activities that similar clubs are allowed to do.
Natrona County High School senior Kylie Wall told The Daily Wire that the Club America chapter she started has received a chilly reception from school administrators who have exercised a heavy hand over the group’s activities. This includes taking limited action after school staff ripped down posters for the club at the school, she said.
State Senator Rachel Rodriguez Williams, the chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, told The Daily Wire that school officials appeared to be chilling the free speech of conservative students.
“At best, NCHS administrators are chilling the protected speech of students, which is unacceptable,” she told The Daily Wire. “At worst, they’re systematically silencing the speech and activities of students on and off campus, which is indefensible.”
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus filed a public records request on Sunday, demanding all communications to or from Natrona County High School Principal Aaron Wilson containing the terms “Club America” or “Turning Point USA.” Natrona County High School is located in Casper, Wyoming’s second most populous city.
Wall told The Daily Wire on Thursday that she had serious concerns about equal treatment, free speech, and student rights under district policy and the federal Equal Access Act, which requires schools receiving federal funds to have equal opportunities.
“As students, we simply want to be treated fairly, to have our voices respected, and to participate in the same opportunities afforded to other clubs,” she said. “We look forward to working toward a resolution that upholds district policy and students’ constitutional rights.”
Wall, who started a Club America chapter shortly after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, says that school officials have blocked them from participating in public meetings off campus and failed to take sufficient action after she saw school staff tearing down advertisements for the club.
“Approved Club America flyers have been removed by staff, and some teachers have made disparaging remarks about our club and its members,” Wall told The Daily Wire. “Despite these reports, the administration has taken little action to address them, contributing to a hostile environment for students who hold different viewpoints.”
Natrona County School District noted that it recognized two Club America chapters, one at Natrona County High School and another at Kelly Walsh High School.
“These student-led clubs are open to high school students who are interested in learning about government, civic responsibility, and active citizenship. Like all student-led clubs, school-based meetings are student-driven and are not open to the public,” the county told The Daily Wire. “We continue to encourage students from all high schools to work together and collaborate in many different capacities.”
Rodriguez Williams said that the Wyoming Freedom Caucus “reminds all Wyoming school districts that students don’t shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse doors. We are disgusted that school staff would tear down posters advertising Club America, but are filled with hope for the future at the bravery and poise of these patriotic students.”
In addition to the posters being pulled down, school officials have reportedly blocked Wall’s chapter from meeting with another local Turning Point USA club, prohibited them from attending an off-campus banquet hosted by the Wyoming Family Alliance, and told Wall that she could not do an interview on the club without the principal’s presence.
“Our club was prohibited from attending a community event hosted by the Wyoming Family Alliance, even though other student organizations — such as athletic teams and Key Club, and others — routinely attend similar off-campus events,” Wall said. “This restriction seems inconsistent with district practice and limits our club’s opportunities to participate equally in civic activities.”
Wyoming Family Alliance Executive Director Nathan Winters confirmed that Wilson told them to “exclusively” reach out to Club America through him and declined the invitation to the banquet. He added that they never received a response when they asked if there was a district policy blocking the students from engaging in community events.
“Wyoming Family Alliance will always stand with students who want to engage in civil public discourse and experience the true meaning of American citizenship,” Winters told The Daily Wire. “We are disappointed and deeply concerned when any school or administrator restricts those first steps toward civic participation. Students should be encouraged, not silenced, when they seek to learn, lead, and contribute to their communities.”
Wall added that she “was instructed not to speak to reporters about our chapter without direct administrative supervision, or even on my own time,” while students at other high schools were not restricted in the same way.
Following the assassination of Kirk last month in Utah, Turning Point USA has reported a massive surge in requests to form new chapters on both high school and college campuses. The organization said last week that it has launched 1,500 new high school chapters nationwide, up from roughly 1,200 total before Kirk’s death.