DISTRIBUTION OR POSTING OF MATERIALS
The board recognizes that students, employees, parents or citizens may want to distribute materials within the school district that are noncurricular. Noncurricular materials to be distributed must be approved by the building principal and meet certain standards prior to their distribution.
It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent, in conjunction with the building principals to draft administrative regulations regarding this policy.
Materials shall be reviewed based on legitimate educational concerns. Such concerns include: the material is or may be defamatory; the material is inappropriate based on the age, grade level and/or maturity of the reading audience; the material is poorly written, inadequately researched, biased or prejudiced; the material contains information that is not factual; the material is not free of racial, ethnic, religious or sexual bias; or the material contains advertising that violates public school laws, rules and/or policy, is deemed inappropriate for students or that the public might reasonably perceive to bear the sanction or approval of the district.
The school district reserves the right to regulate information displayed as follows:
I. Bulletin boards. School authorities may restrict the use of bulletin boards to school announcements. Ample bulletin board space may be provided for the use of students and student organizations, including a reasonable area for notices relating to out-ofschool activities or matters of general interest to students. The following general limitations on posting shall be applied:
A. School authorities shall prohibit material which may be obscene, which may be libelous, or which may inflame or incite students, other individuals, or organizations, or which may create a clear and present danger toward the commission of unlawful acts, or which may cause physical disruption to the orderly operation of the school.
Students shall not post material without first discussing the contents of the material to be posted with their organization sponsor, with a teacher, and the school principal.
B. Identification shall be required on any posted notice of the student or group posting the material.
C. The school shall require that notices or other communications be officially dated before posting and that such material be removed after a prescribed reasonable time to assure full access to the bulletin boards.
II. Distribution of printed material and circulation of petitions. Students may distribute handbills, leaflets, and other printed material and collect signatures on petitions concerning either school or out-of-school issues whether such materials are produced within or outside of the school. The following are general limitations:
A. The time of such activity shall be limited to periods before and after school. Individuals or organizations shall get the approval of the organization's sponsor, of a teacher or of the school principal prior to distribution of any material or prior to collecting petition signatures.
B. The place of such activity shall be reasonable restricted to permit the normal flow of traffic within the school and at exterior doors.
C. The manner of conducting such activity shall be restricted to prevent undue levels of noise, or to prevent the use of coercion in obtaining signatures on petitions. The danger of littering is not a sufficient ground for limiting the right of students to distribute printed material; however, students distributing material shall be responsible for litter which may result from their activities.
D. The school shall require that all printed matter and petitions distributed or circulated on school property bear the name of the sponsoring organization or individual.
E. The school shall prohibit the distribution of material within the restricted categories of Paragraph 1(A) above.
III. Buttons and badges. The wearing of buttons, badges or arm bands bearing slogans or sayings shall be permitted as another form of expression; however, the conditions set forth in Paragraph 1(A) above must be observed. .
In imposing limitations on student expression for any reason under any of the forgoing provisions, school officials must ensure that their rules are applied in a nondiscriminatory basis and that any refusal to allow students to express themselves is not done because of personal biases.
Any student or student group deprived of freedom of expression under any of these provisions shall have the right to request a hearing before the board of education to determine whether such deprivation is justified under these rules. Such hearing must be requested and held as soon as possible after requested.
Cross References:
504.03 Student Conduct
504.08 Freedom of Expression
506 Student Activities
604.10 Academic Freedom
