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Suit: Suburban School Violated Student's Free Speech

(WBBM Newsradio) -- A senior at Cary-Grove High School is suing the district school board in federal court, saying his First Amendment rights were violated.

WBBM's Steve Miller reports.

It is a matter of free speech, according to the court documents filed on behalf of high school senior Matthew Ahmann, who administers the Facebook page "Cary-Grove Politics."

His lawsuit against the school board claims he was threatened and given an ultimatum, told not to speak out when the village mayor spoke at the northwest suburban school last fall.

Ahmann says he complied, but he did record the mayor's speech on his cell phone and posted it later on his political Facebook page.

That's when the school suspended him for one day. The school says secret in-class recordings are prohibited.

Ahmann is asking for damages.

The school board denies many of Ahmann's allegations.

There may be a tentative settlement in the works.

The next court date is in two weeks.

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