505 DISTRIBUTION OF NONSCHOOL-SPONSORED MATERIALS ON SCHOOL PREMISES BY STUDENTS

 

I.   PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to protect the exercise of students’ free speech rights, taking into consideration the educational objectives and responsibilities of the school district.

II.  GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY

A. The school district recognizes that students have the right to express themselves on school property. This protection includes the right to distribute, at a reasonable time and place and in a reasonable manner, nonschool-sponsored material.

B. To protect First Amendment rights, while at the same time preserving the integrity of the educational objectives and responsibilities of the school district, the school board adopts the following regulations and procedures regarding distribution of nonschool-sponsored material on school property and at school activities..

III.  DEFINITIONS

A. “Distribute” or “Distribution” means circulation or dissemination of material by means of handing out free copies, selling or offering copies for sale, accepting donations for copies, posting or displaying material, or placing material in internal staff or student mailboxes.

B. “Nonschool-sponsored material” or “unofficial material” includes all materials or objects intended for distribution, except school newspapers, employee newsletters, literary magazines, yearbooks, and other publications funded and/or sponsored or authorized by the school. Examples of nonschool-sponsored materials include, but are not limited to, leaflets, brochures, buttons, badges, flyers, petitions, posters, and underground newspapers whether written by students or employees or others, and tangible objects.

C. “Obscene to minors” means:

1. The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest of minors of the age to whom distribution is requested;

2. The material depicts or describes, in a manner that is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community concerning how such conduct should be presented to minors of the age to whom distribution is requested, sexual conduct such as intimate sexual acts (normal or perverted), masturbation, excretory functions, or lewd exhibition of the genitals; and

3. The material, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

D. “Minor” means any person under the age of eighteen (18).

E. “Material and substantial disruption” of a normal school activity means:

1. Where the normal school activity is an educational program of the district for which student attendance is compulsory, “material and substantial disruption” is defined as any disruption which interferes with or impedes the implementation of that program.

2. Where the normal school activity is voluntary in nature (including school athletic events, school plays and concerts, and lunch periods) “material and substantial disruption” is defined as student rioting, unlawful seizures of property, conduct inappropriate to the event, participation in a school boycott, demonstration, sit-in, stand-in, walk-out, or other related forms of activity.

In order for expression to be considered disruptive, specific facts must exist upon which the likelihood of disruption can be forecast including past experience in the school, current events influencing student activities and behavior, and instances of actual or threatened disruption relating to the written material in question.

F. “School activities” means any activity sponsored by the school including, but not limited to, classroom work, library activities, physical education classes, official assemblies and other similar gatherings, school athletic contests, band concerts, school plays and other theatrical productions, and in-school lunch periods.

G. “Libelous” is a false and unprivileged statement about a specific individual that tends to harm the individual’s reputation or to lower that individual in the esteem of the community.

IV.  POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT

A.  Funds

1.   The school district, through its school board, has authority to raise funds for the operation and maintenance of its schools and authority to manage and expend such funds, subject to applicable law.

2.   The school district has wide discretion over the expenditure of funds under its control for public purposes, subject to the limitations provided by law.

3.   School district officials occupy a fiduciary position in the management and expenditure of funds entrusted to them.

B.  Raising Funds

1.   The school district shall, within the limitations specified by law, provide by levy of tax necessary funds for the conduct of schools, payment of indebtedness, and all proper expenses.

2.   The school district may issue bonds in accordance with the provisions of Minn. Stat. Ch. 475, or other applicable law.

3.   The school district has authority to accept gifts and donations for school purposes, subject to applicable law.

C.  Property

1.   The school district may acquire property for school purposes. It may sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of property which is no longer needed for school purposes, subject to applicable law.

2.   The school district shall manage its property in a manner consistent with the educational functions of the district.

3.   The school district may permit the use of its facilities for community purposes which are not inconsistent with, nor disruptive of, its educational mission.

4.   School district officials hold school property as trustees for the use and benefit of students, taxpayers, and the community.

D.  Contracts

1.   The school district is empowered to enter into contracts in the manner provided by law.

2.   The school district has authority to enter into installment purchases and leases with an 
option to purchase, pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 465.71 or other applicable law.

3.    The  school  district  has  authority  to  make  contracts  with  other governmental  agencies  and  units  for  the  purchase, lease or other acquisition of equipment, supplies, materials, or other property, including real property.

4.    The school district has authority to enter into employment contracts. As a public employer, the school district, through its designated representatives, shall meet and negotiate with public employees in an appropriate bargaining unit and enter into written collective bargaining agreements with such employees, subject to applicable law.

E.   Textbooks, Educational Materials, and Studies

1.   The school district, through its school board and administrators, has the authority to determine what textbooks, educational materials, and studies should be pursued.

2.   The school district shall establish and apply the school curriculum.

F.   Actions and Suits

The school district has authority to sue and to be sued.

Legal References:  

Minn. Const. art. 13, § 1
Minn. Stat. Ch. 123B (School Districts, Powers and Duties)
Minn. Stat. Ch. 179A (Public Employment Labor Relations)
Minn. Stat. § 465.035 (Conveyance or Lease of Land)
Minn. Stat. §§ 465.71; 471.345; 471.6161; 471.6175; 471.64 (Rights, Powers, Duties of Political Subdivisions)
Minnesota Association of Public Schools v. Hanson, 287 Minn. 415, 178 N.W.2d 846 (1970)
Independent School District No. 581 v. Mattheis, 275 Minn. 383, 147 N.W.2d 374 (1966)
Village of Blaine v. Independent School District No. 12, 272 Minn. 343, 138 N.W.2d 32 (1965)
Huffman v. School Board, 230 Minn. 289, 41 N.W.2d 455 (1950)
State v. Lakeside Land Co., 71 Minn. 283, 73 N.W.970 (1898)

Cross References:  
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 201 (Legal Status of School Board)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 603 (Curriculum Development)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 604 (Instructional Curriculum)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 606 (Textbooks and Instructional Materials)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 704 (Development and Maintenance of an Inventory of Fixed Assets and a Fixed Asset Accounting System)MSBA/MASA Model Policy 705 (Investments)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 706 (Acceptance of Gifts)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 801 (Equal Access to School 
Facilities) MSBA Service Manual, Chapter 3, Employee Negotiations
MSBA Service Manual, Chapter 13, School Law Bulletin “F” (Contract and Bidding Procedures)