512 SCHOOL-SPONSORED STUDENT PUBLICATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

 

I.   PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to protect students’ rights to free speech in production of school-sponsored media and activities while at the same time balancing the school district’s role in supervising student publications and the operation of public schools.

II.  GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY

A. Expressions and representations made by students in school-sponsored publications and activities are not expressions of official school district policy. Faculty advisors shall supervise student writers to ensure compliance with the law and school district policies.

B. Students who believe their right to free expression has been unreasonably restricted in school-sponsored media or activity may seek review of the decision by the building principal. The principal shall issue a decision no later than three (3) school days after review is requested.

1. Students producing school-sponsored media and activities shall be under the supervision of a faculty advisor and the school principal. School-sponsored media and activities shall be subject to the guidelines set forth below.

2. School-sponsored media may be distributed at reasonable times and locations.

III.  DEFINITIONS

A. “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 materials in internal staff or student mailboxes.

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

1. Where the normal school activity is an educational program of the school 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, without limitation, 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, there must exist specific facts 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.

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

D. “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.

E. “School activities” means any activity of students 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.

F. "School-sponsored media" means material that is:

1. prepared, wholly or substantially written, published, broadcast, or otherwise disseminated by a student journalist enrolled in the school district;

2. distributed or generally made available to students in the school; and

3. prepared by a student journalist under the supervision of a student media adviser. School-sponsored media does not include material prepared solely for distribution or transmission in the classroom in which the material is produced, or a yearbook.

G. "Student journalist" means a school district student in grades 6 through 12 who gathers, compiles, writes, edits, photographs, records, or otherwise prepares information for dissemination in school-sponsored media.

H. "Student media adviser" means a qualified teacher, as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.16, that the school district employs, appoints, or designates to supervise student journalists or provide instruction relating to school-sponsored media.

IV.  GUIDELINES

A.  Except as provided in paragraph B below, a student journalist has the right to exercise freedom of speech and freedom of the press in school-sponsored media regardless of whether the school-sponsored media receives financial support from the school or district, uses school equipment or facilities in its production, or is produced as part of a class or course in which the student journalist is enrolled. Freedom of speech includes freedom to express political viewpoints. Consistent with paragraph B below, a student journalist has the right to determine the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of school-sponsored media. The school district must not discipline a student journalist for exercising rights or freedoms under this paragraph or the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

B.  Student expression in school-sponsored media, a yearbook, or school-sponsored activity is prohibited when the material:

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)