Case 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ Document 10 Filed 11/21/14 Page 1 of 6

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
SEATTLE DIVISION

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MICHAEL LEAL,

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Plaintiff,

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vs.

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EVERETT PUBLIC SCHOOLS, GARY

COHN, in his individual and official capacities
as Superintendent of Everett Public Schools,
CATHY WOODS, in her individual and
official capacities as Principal of Cascade High
School, LAURA PHILLIPS, in her individual
and official capacities as Assistant Principal of
Cascade High School, ROBERT AGUILAR,
in his individual and official capacities as
Assistant Principal of Cascade High School,
and DOES 1 THRU 100,

Case No. 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ

DECLARATION OF MICHAEL LEAL IN
SUPPORT OF TEMPROARY RESTRAINING
ORDER AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
[42 U.S.C. 1983]

Defendants.

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-1Declaration of Michael Leal - Case No. 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ

PJI
P.O. Box 276600
Sacramento, CA 95827
(916) 857-6900

Case 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ Document 10 Filed 11/21/14 Page 2 of 6

I, Michael Leal, hereby declare, that I am the named plaintiff in the above-encaptioned action,
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and that if called upon, I could, and would, truthfully testify of my own personal knowledge as follows:

1.

I am a student enrolled in Cascade High School and am a senior.

2.

I am a Christian and I actively practice my faith. The practice of my faith includes

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sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people that I encounter.

3.

My sharing of the Gospel includes giving Christian literature, often in the form of tracts,

to people. In addition, when I have a conversation with others, I look for an opportunity to explain the

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Gospel. I also share the Gospel by delivering religious speeches in open-air areas to whoever will
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listen. Among Christians, these speeches are called preaching the Gospel.
4.

I have shared the Gospel through leafleting, private conversations, and preaching the

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Gospel at school. This has been typically done outside of the time when my teachers are teaching. For

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example, lunchtime and at breaks. However, I do share my faith while on campus.

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5.

I have read the complaint and signed it. In this lawsuit, I am not challenging rules that

restrict students from expressing themselves when a teacher is trying to teach. Instead, I am

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challenging the restrictions on sharing the Gospel outside of instructional time.

6.

On September 3, 2014, during the lunch break, I was handing out tracts, titled How to

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Know God to other students and having private conversations with them. This happened during lunch

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break. The complaint has Exhibit A which is a copy of the cover of the tract along with the text.

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Shortly after that I was in line in the school office waiting to see a counselor about changing a class.

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An Assistant Principal, Laura Phillips saw me and pulled me out of line and took me to the Principals

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office. The principal is Cathy Woods. I noticed a copy of one of the tracts I had handed out was on
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Ms. Woods desk. Ms. Woods pointed to the tract and told me that I could not hand out the tract
because it was proselytizing. The tract, she said, may offend students and make them upset. Both

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-2Declaration of Michael Leal - Case No. 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ

PJI
P.O. Box 276600
Sacramento, CA 95827
(916) 857-6900

Case 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ Document 10 Filed 11/21/14 Page 3 of 6

Ms. Woods and Ms. Phillips told me that if I kept passing out tracks I would get in trouble.
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7.

On October 1, 2014, at 7:30 at night the High School had a bonfire and car bash event

on my school campus. The event was open to all CHS students. During the event I handed out tracts to

students in attendance. I also began to open air preach next to the bonfire. Ms. Woods told me to stop

so after a short while I backed away and left the area around the bonfire. A little later, I noticed a

nearby area where music was playing and kids were dancing. I began to preach there. Several school

administrators followed me and told me to stop. They said they called the police and my parents. After

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a short period of time, about15 to 20 minutes, I respectfully listened to them and stopped preaching.
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Administrators took me away from the gathering of students and told me that I couldnt hand out

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leaflets. I then began to share the Christian faith with the administrators that I was with. They

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responded, We dont want you preaching to us! The police arrived and first spoke to the CHS

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administrators. After speaking to them the two police officers came up and greeted me and said that

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my parents were coming. One of them then smiled and said, Okay, lets refrain from the Lords work

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till your parents come. I said no problem, and they left. Soon after that, my parents arrived and I went

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home with them.

8.

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The next day, another Assistant Principal named Robert Aguilar saw me at school and

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told me to come with him to his office so we could talk. At his office we talked about what happened

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at the bonfire and car bash. He talked about school rules and then suspended me from school for two

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days and gave me a paper called Notice of Disciplinary Action. Mr. Aguilar wrote on the Notice that

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the reason for the suspension as boisterous conduct of religious material impinged on rights of other

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students and failure to comply to multiple Administrative requests to stop activity. I lost two days of

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school.
9.

On October 8, 2014, I went to the campus after school hours where the school was

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-3Declaration of Michael Leal - Case No. 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ

PJI
P.O. Box 276600
Sacramento, CA 95827
(916) 857-6900

Case 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ Document 10 Filed 11/21/14 Page 4 of 6

hosting an open house and a volleyball game. Both events were open to the public, and there were
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many parents and students on campus. I walked around the school among the people there and gave

tracts to parents and students who wanted one. Ms. Woods stopped me and said that she must give me

permission to leaflet and that she needed to monitor me. She said that if she allowed me to hand out

tracts and to talk about Jesus she would be breaking the law. I was surprised by this. So I asked, If

you allow me to hand out tracts and to talk about Jesus, then you would be breaking the law? Ms.

Woods said yes. CHS administrators then told me to promise to agree that I would leave campus and

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that I would not hand out tracts. I agreed to leave the campus but I would not agree to give up my right
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to hand out literature. They then led me off campus.

10.

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The next day I distributed tracts to students during the lunch break. I also would have

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personal conversations with one or more students about the Christian faith. This is not during the time

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when there is teaching and the leafleting and talking to a few people doesnt disrupt school. Ms.

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Woods approached two students that I had spoken with and asked them if they had wanted to have a
conversation with me about this topic. The students told her that they did. During fourth period I was

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told to report to Assistant Principal Aguilars office. Mr. Aguilar told me that I had continued to hand
out tracts after multiple warnings. He then suspended me for three days. The Notice of Disciplinary

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Action said that I was suspended for distribution of religious material and failure to comply with

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school rules after explicit direction from administration. Mr. Aguilar said that if I distribute tracts

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again it will lead to immediate expulsion and a conference with the Dean. I lost another three days of

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school.

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11.

The next day, October 10, 2014, my attorney sent a letter to Dr. Gary Cohn, who is the

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Superintendent of Everett Public School. I read and approved the letter before it was sent. The letter is
Exhibit C to the complaint. The letter from my lawyer includes the two suspension notices.

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-4Declaration of Michael Leal - Case No. 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ

PJI
P.O. Box 276600
Sacramento, CA 95827
(916) 857-6900

Case 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ Document 10 Filed 11/21/14 Page 5 of 6

12.

On October 27, 2014, my attorney forwarded the letter from the schools attorney. That

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letter is part of the complaint as Exhibit D. Page 6 of the letter says that Mr. Leal may distribute

written material that he or other students wrote and published before and after school at the building

entrances and exits. It then says, Mr. Leal may not, however, continue to distribute non-student

material, nor may he continue to distribute any material at times and places other than before and after

school at the building entrances and exits.

13.

I have been suspended from school because of these two rules. The text of the two

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tracts that I give to other students is part of the complaint as Exhibits A and B. Although I agree with
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the message of these tracts, I did not write them and they were not written by a student. Also, I

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distribute these tracks on the inside of the campus rather than at the entrance and exits. I leaflet during

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school hours, particularly lunchtime.

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I wish and intend to hand out tracks to students that are not my original material.

Further, I want and intend to hand out tracks to students inside the campus during free time when
school is taking place. However, if I do that, I will be suspended and told that I will be expelled from

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school. In fact, on Friday, October 31, I handed a tract to a girl I was sitting next to in math class. The
teacher was not teaching and the students were at their desks. The tract that I gave her I did not write

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myself. Before I arrived at my next class, I was escorted by school security to the Assistant Principals

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office where Mr. Aguilar suspended me for five days. Accept for giving a girl a piece of Gospel

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literature that I did not write myself, my behavior was no different from other students in the class. The

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math teacher did not say anything to me during class and Im surprised that he noticed. No other

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students in that class were suspended for talking or handing each other papers or books. I have now
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been suspended for two days, three days, and now five days. I am a senior and I am afraid that I will be
expelled from school.

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-5Declaration of Michael Leal - Case No. 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ

PJI
P.O. Box 276600
Sacramento, CA 95827
(916) 857-6900

Case 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ Document 10 Filed 11/21/14 Page 6 of 6

I declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the United States and the State of
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Washington, that the foregoing is true and correct to my own personal knowledge. Executed this 18th
day of November, 2014, in the County of Snohomish, City of Everett, State of Washington.

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s/Michael Leal___________________________
Michael Leal, Declarant

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-6Declaration of Michael Leal - Case No. 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ

PJI
P.O. Box 276600
Sacramento, CA 95827
(916) 857-6900

Case 2:14-cv-01762-TSZ Document 10-1 Filed 11/21/14 Page 1 of 1