Becker Schools made national news again for a policy that would ban staff and teachers from telling parents and community what’s really going on in their schools.
The policy is part of a new “communications plan” that was created at Becker Public Schools.
The nine-page document includes details such as the district’s overall mission, its goals, and even a guide that explains the right colors and images staff members should use when it comes to the school district’s logo.
Most of the communication plan is pretty straight forward, except for one line on page two has drawn criticism from the teachers’ union.
That line states “employees may not make statements to the media, individuals, or entities outside the district relating to student or personnel matters.”
The School Board explained that guideline was designed to protect staff from feeling obligated to speak to the press after receiving a media request.
The teachers’ union in Becker (the Becker Education Association) subsequently filed a lawsuit against Becker Public Schools last Thursday in Sherburne County Court.
Members say the lawsuit was filed in response to a “gag order,” a new policy at Becker Public Schools that teachers argue tells them what they can and can’t say in public.
“We believe it violates free speech and educators’ ability to do their job,” Education Minnesota President Denise Specht says.
She also believes overall the new plan is too broad.
“Employees’ repeated attempts to relay to the board their concerns with the purpose and lawfulness of the policy were ignored, along with their pleas for it to be amended or withdrawn, leaving the union with no choice but to pursue litigation,” Specht said.
Education Minnesota is made up of 472 local unions. Each is organized to meet the specific needs of members in their job settings and communities.
The suit argues that this new policy is connected to a school board meeting in March that ignited a debate over LGBTQ+ students and their rights, which included a protest with more than a hundred people.
“It feels definitely that there is a tie to that event,” Specht says.
The board’s decision to allow an anti-gay group to present made national headlines and drew swift reaction from the school community, with many saying there aren’t two sides to LGBTQ+ rights.
Becker Public School Superintendent Jeremy Schmidt released a statement in response to the lawsuit:
“We have been made aware of recent court filings in connection with a legal action challenging certain aspects of the School District’s new communication plan. We disagree with the claims and assertions being made in those filings, and believe the lawsuit misconstrues the purpose and effect of language in the School District’s plan. Because the judicial system is the more appropriate forum in which to address these issues, the School District will respond through the legal proceedings before the Court.”
Ben Pany, a teacher in the district, spoke about the policy during a board meeting on Aug. 1.
“The recently passed communications plan violates teachers’ freedom of speech by prohibiting them from making public statements,” Pany said. “For the select few allowed to speak, the plan only permits communication that praises Becker schools. This gag order infringes on the public’s freedom to hear full accounts of what is happening in their schools.”
Pany said the policy would bar coaches and advisers from speaking to the local newspaper.
“This means coaches and advisers cannot speak to the local newspaper. Do we really want to limit the sharing of our students’ successes on the field and on the stage? Or will this plan only be enforced to limit the speech of only certain people and groups? If so, you are proving that this is a plan put in to harass only certain people,” he said at the board meeting.
The union also suggested the policy could bar educators from fulfilling obligations as mandatory reporters, in cases of suspected child abuse or maltreatment.
The union has also threatened to take legal action against the Becker school district over another policy under consideration.
Policy 471, currently under legal review by Becker district counsel, aims to bar “political indoctrination” and “the teaching of inherently divisive concepts,” which, according to the draft policy, includes concepts in which “an individual’s moral character is inherently determined by his or her race, sex or faith” or “an individual, by virtue of his or her race, sex, or faith, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, sex, or faith.”
Becker’s superintendent has recommended the policy not be approved. The American Civil Liberties Union and a lawyer from Education Minnesota have both written letters to the Becker district warning the policy could violate First Amendment rights and undermine equity efforts.
Meg Luger-Nikolai, an attorney with Education Minnesota, said the union would explore “all legal options” if Policy 471 was not revised to bring it “in line with the most straightforward precepts of state and federal law.”
For now, the board has decided to table policy 471 pending a review by a subcommittee, in consultation with an attorney.
Tuesday, the board held a special board meeting to discuss the communication plan. They recessed for 45 minutes, then returned to the meeting to vote to rescind the plan.
“We are disappointed we had to go through this adversarial process,” said Board Chairman Mark Swanson.
Other News
The official candidate list for the Becker School Board election in November includes three, four-year seats and two, two-year seats on the ballot.
Carla Berger, Troy Berning and Ryan Hubbard are vying for the two, two-year seats while Keri Rickard, Aaron Jurek, Sarah Colford, Nathan Koubsky, Pete Weismann and Corey Stanger are vying for the three, four-year seats.
