School to expel daughter of Moms for Liberty member over a year after teen reported threat: 'Coincidental timing'

A Pennsylvania high school plans to suspend and start the process of expelling the 15-year-old daughter of a Moms for Liberty member more than a year after the teenager reported a threatening message she found written on her desk, according to the Federalist.

The decision to punish the teen, whose name was withheld by the publication because she is a minor, coincided with a tense school board meeting, according to the child's mother, Tricia Plank. The meeting, at least in part, related to an ongoing Moms for Liberty lawsuit that is attempting to block the Biden-Harris administration's proposed rule changes to Title IX, which would allow men to compete in women's sports.

The Plank family is mentioned in the Moms for Liberty complaint.

'If the powers-that-be genuinely thought that these kids were threats, they shouldn't have waited fifteen months to file charges.'

The May court filing states, "Presently, Ms. Plank's children express views about gender identity and transgenderism while in school. To date, they have received scrutiny from teachers and administration but have not received any reprimands or been disciplined for their speech."

In February 2023, the then-13-year-old discovered writing on her desk in pencil that read, "I will bomb this school." Also written on the desk was the word "Gun," with an arrow pointing to the word "Dead," the Federalist reported.

The teen, the last of three students who used the desk during the school day, reported the threatening graffiti seven minutes after arriving in the classroom, according to a police timeline based on the surveillance footage.

She told the Federalist, "I didn't realize that it was on my desk until the teacher was done talking, and she told us to clear our desks. And then once I moved my binders and stuff, then I saw it, and then I raised my hand and I told her."

She further noted that she could not have written the message because it was in cursive, and her class was never given the option to learn cursive writing.

The school principal and vice principal questioned the two other students who also used the desk, and both stated they had not observed any writing earlier in the day. The teen who reported the graffiti was never questioned, according to the Planks.

The police concluded the Planks' daughter was the one who jotted down the threatening message and then made the decision to report her own wrongdoing, the Federalist reported. However, the incident and the looming threat of any repercussions for the alleged crime seemed to ultimately blow over for the remainder of her eighth-grade year.

The teen then entered high school, where she participated in tennis and track and field. Phillip Plank, the teen's father, has coached her in tennis since she was young. She has previously earned a county champion title.

However, a week after Moms for Liberty filed the lawsuit to stop changes to Title IX, the school suddenly revived the threatening graffiti case.

The Planks' daughter is now facing pending charges of terroristic threats and institutional vandalism in the juvenile justice system after a handwriting analysis found that she was "capable of having produced this text."

In the middle of summer vacation leading up to the teen's sophomore year of high school and 72 weeks after the reported incident, the principal called the Planks to notify them that the school would move forward with the plans to suspend and expel their daughter.

Tricia Plank, who joined the school board in December 2023, asked to meet with the superintendent to request that her daughter's suspension wait until after the tennis season so as not to hurt her college prospects. The superintendent agreed to pause the suspension to allow the teen to participate in tennis.

In August, the school board held a meeting that turned contentious over a discussion about sexualized literature in the school library. Both Tricia Plank and the superintendent attended the meeting but held opposing views on the issue.

The following day, the school's attorney contacted the Planks' lawyer, Paul B. Royer, informing him that the school would be moving forward with their daughter's suspension and expulsion, preventing her from playing tennis.

The Planks called it "coincidental timing."

Several days before the teen found the graffiti on her desk, her younger sister was accused of a similar, unrelated incident. The then-11-year-old girl was reportedly in the school bathroom with several other students. A bomb threat was written on the wall, but no one saw who transcribed it. The girl faces similar charges from police and the school for the incident.

Royer told the Federalist, "My clients look forward to defending themselves and letting both the juvenile justice system and school disciplinary procedure play out."

"The evidence will show that these kids never threatened anyone, were never a threat, are not currently threats, and if the powers-that-be genuinely thought that these kids were threats, they shouldn't have waited fifteen months to file charges," he added.

The superintendent did not reply to a request for comment from the Federalist.

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