Orange County schools review KCE ethics policy; board members press for consistency with state law

Orange County Public Schools staff brought revisions to policy KCE — the district's ethics and lobbying policy — to the school board during a Feb. 13 work session, proposing tighter written controls on employee testimonials for vendors and adding procedures for handling gifts and lobbyist registration.

The draft presented by General Counsel John Palmerini would continue a practice already in place requiring written approval before employees record testimonials for vendors and would add the superintendent as an authorized approver alongside the district's ethics compliance officer, Vivian Kokotis. Palmerini said the draft also spells out a set of conditions for testimonials from employees for organizations that qualify under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), including that testimonials be voluntary and based on the employee's personal experience and that the vendor submit testimonials for district review before publication.

Why it matters: Board members emphasized that some parts of KCE are more restrictive than state law and asked staff to revise sections so employee and board-member treatment mirror state statute where appropriate. Board…