Decatur board debates how broadly to limit staff political activity in proposed policy

The City Schools of Decatur Board of Education took up a draft policy intended to limit political activity by employees, focusing the discussion on whether the rule should be limited to campaigning for partisan candidates or expanded to proscribe broader social-issue advocacy in classrooms and on campus.

Board members discussed the draft at length during the board—s January 14 prework session. Carrie, the district—s legal counsel, told the board the draft was intentionally narrow and that the district had used the federal Hatch Act definition as a point of reference: "activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, a candidate for a partisan political office or a partisan political group," she said. Counsel cautioned that Georgia does not have an identical controlling statute and that the board must choose how broad it wants the policy to be.

The debate centered on two approaches. One, supported by several board members and legal staff, would target…