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Board approves employee and volunteer political campaign policy language on second reading
Summary
The Wake County Board of Education adopted policy 77‑20 (amended to include volunteers in the title) on second reading, adding guidance about employee political campaign activities and clarifying classroom instruction on political issues.
The Wake County Board of Education approved revisions to Board Policy 77‑20 governing employee political campaign activities on second reading at its Oct. 21 meeting, adopting a version that also names volunteers in the policy title and inserts an instructional clarity amendment.
Chair James Haggerty moved to approve the policy on second reading; the motion was seconded by Board Member Hershey and ultimately carried.
Major changes and debate
- Scope and title: The board debated whether the policy should apply only to employees or also to volunteers. After discussion about where volunteer behavior is best governed, the board amended the policy title to read “77‑20 Employee and Volunteer Political Campaign Activities.” The board noted volunteer guidance may also be reflected in existing volunteer/visitor policies and policy committee follow‑up is planned.
- Instructional exemption clarified: The board voted to amend language clarifying that “this policy should not be construed as prohibiting the impartial study and discussion of political issues in the classroom setting when such study and discussion is properly executed and consistent with the approved curriculum and guidance from supervisors on instructional content and methods.” The amendment was proposed and moved on the floor and incorporated into the policy language.
- Hyperlink and cross‑reference edits: Board members and staff agreed to remove a long quoted block of policy 22‑20 and instead hyperlink or reference the official spokesperson policy to avoid duplicating entire policy text.
Why it matters: The policy sets boundaries for campaign advocacy on school property and clarifies permissible instructional activity so teachers and volunteers know how to conduct classroom lessons on political content while preserving the system’s neutral stance in official capacities.
Board action and process
Doctor Mutillo (staff) presented the second reading. The board debated several amendments, including whether to remove the words “or volunteer service” from the policy language (a proposal that was withdrawn) and whether to add volunteers to the policy title (the title change passed). After incorporating the instructional‑clarity amendment and the title change, the board voted to approve the policy on second reading.
Ending
Board members asked staff to bring volunteer‑specific language to the policy committee so the district can harmonize the new language across volunteer and visitor policies.
