A federal appeals court has rejected an attempt by a chapter of the conservative group Moms for Liberty to block restrictions that the Brevard County School Board placed on public participation at board meetings.

A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld a district judge's denial of a preliminary injunction against the policy, which Moms for Liberty members contend has violated First Amendment rights.

Moms for Liberty, which was founded by two former Florida school-board members, including former Brevard County board member Tina Descovich, has gained national prominence as it has fought school boards on issues such as mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who took the somewhat-unusual step of aggressively backing school-board candidates in this year's elections, appeared in July at an inaugural Moms for Liberty "summit" in Tampa.

The group's Brevard County chapter and individual members filed the lawsuit in November 2021 in federal court in Orlando and sought a preliminary injunction against the public-participation policy. Among other things, they contend that speakers are frequently interrupted for criticizing the school board, including for comments deemed "personally directed" at board members.

But U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. in January turned down the request for a preliminary injunction, writing that on "its face, the policy is both content- and viewpoint-neutral."

"It allows the (school board) chair to interrupt speech only when it is 'too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant.' … And prohibiting abusive and obscene comments is not based on content or viewpoint, but rather is critical to prevent disruption, preserve 'reasonable decorum,' and facilitate an orderly meeting — which the Eleventh Circuit (Court of Appeals) has held on multiple occasions is permissible," Dalton wrote.