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Legal ruling forces change to OCPS public-comment rules; board reviews open comment, civility code
Summary
Following a recent federal appeals decision, Orange County legal staff proposed edits to the district's public-comment policy (BEDH) to avoid unconstitutional viewpoint restrictions while retaining decorum rules. Staff and board members debated name-calling prohibitions, personally directed speech and procedures for handling disruptive speakers.
Orange County school district legal staff recommended language changes to policy BEDH at the Feb. 13 work session after an Eleventh Circuit decision narrowed the district's ability to restrict speech in public-comment forums. The discussion focused on balancing free-speech protections and meeting decorum while protecting students and employees.
General Counsel John Palmerini told the board the district's code of civility and prior practice that barred "personally directed" critical comments and profanity could not be written or enforced in a way that amounted to viewpoint discrimination in light of the Eleventh Circuit ruling in Moms for Liberty v. Brevard County School Board.
Why it matters: The court ruled in that case that broadly defined prohibitions on "abusive" or "offensive" speech can amount to viewpoint discrimination and therefore be unconstitutional. That ruling required staff to rewrite portions of BEDH so the district preserves decorum without precluding speakers from stating…
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