Pittsville Mom Wins Settlement After School District Threatens Her Over Social Media Post

Today, WILL secured a settlement agreement with the School District of Pittsville to vindicate the First Amendment rights of Amanda Vogel, a parent who received litigation threats from school district officials and visits from law enforcement following a social media post.

The dispute began after Vogel shared a social media video explaining her family’s decision to homeschool her daughter. In response, the school district involved law enforcement, resulting in two visits to Vogel’s home, and later sent a cease-and-desist letter threatening a defamation lawsuit.

Per the settlement, the school district acknowledged that Vogel’s social media post constituted protected speech, rescinded its cease-and-desist letter, agreed not to pursue legal action against her, and provided compensation for legal fees after responding to her post by involving law enforcement and threatening litigation.

WILL Deputy Counsel, Cory Brewer, stated, “The First Amendment does not disappear when a parent criticizes a school district. Our client exercised her constitutional right to share her family’s experience and explain why she chose to homeschool her daughter. The school district has now acknowledged that her speech was protected and has withdrawn its legal threats.”

Wisconsin Farmers Sue USDA Over Forced Climate Change "Milk Tax"

Today, WILL filed a federal lawsuit against the USDA and the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (Dairy Board) on behalf of three Wisconsin dairy farmers.

The lawsuit challenges the unconstitutional Dairy Checkoff program, which forces dairy farmers to fund private, third-party organizations that promote radical and ideologically driven Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agendas. The unconstitutional tax applies to every gallon of milk, also raising costs to consumers.

Under the law, Checkoff funds are restricted to the advertisement and promotion of dairy product sales and consumption, and related research. But today’s Dairy Checkoff has morphed into a bloated labyrinth that funnels money to private organizations like the Innovation Center, who in turn, advance ESG-focused initiatives which aggressively push greenhouse gas reduction as a top priority of the dairy industry.

WILL Client and Wisconsin dairy farmer, Abby Swan, stated, “Dairy farmers like me are being forced to subsidize private organizations pushing climate change research and ESG mandates for our farms, even though the Dairy Checkoff program is just supposed to market and promote our milk. So not only are we funding a threat to our own existence, but these unrelated priorities increase my costs—and therefore yours.”

The State of Wisconsin Education...

Hear the Latest on "If You Can Keep It"

Is America’s “assembly line” schooling model broken? In Episode 10 of the “If You Can Keep It” Podcast, we focus on America’s classrooms to examine the current state of education in Wisconsin and beyond. We dive into why the traditional “assembly line” model of public schooling may be out of date, potential school consolidation, and the balance between public education and school choice.

WILL President Rick Esenberg is joined by WILL Research Director Dr. Will Flanders, the architect behind WILL’s most impactful reports and data-driven research on academic achievement. They look ahead at a new model for schools, the impact of AI on learning, and the “Southern Surge” in literacy to see what lessons Wisconsin can learn from unexpected success stories across the country.

The “If You Can Keep It” podcast can be listened to on all platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Substack, and Rumble.

WILL Defends First Amendment Rights of Wisconsin Dentists

WILL also filed a public comment letter in opposition to a newly proposed Wisconsin Dentistry Examining Board rule that threatens the First Amendment rights of local dentists.

The rule seeks to ban dentists from advertising themselves using terms like “specialist” if their field does not appear on the American Dental Association (ADA) narrow list of 12 recognized categories. This would silence expert dentists in unlisted fields like dental implants, leaving them vulnerable to state punishment for simply telling patients the truth about their specialized experience.

WILL’s comment letter highlights the severe First Amendment issues in this rule proposal and requests that the Board respect established constitutional protections for truthful advertising. Our letter to the Dentistry Examining Board asks the Board to drop the rule or make significant changes to it.

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