Faribault policy committee forwards multiple policies to school board, adds ethics clause barring support for groups that advocate overthrowing government

Faribault — The Faribault Public School District policy committee on Feb. 3, 2026, voted to forward a package of policy updates to the full school board and approved a substantive addition to the administrator code of ethics that bars school administrators from knowingly joining or supporting organizations that advocate the overthrow of government.

The committee, meeting as part of its three-year review cycle, advanced Policies 301 (School District Administration), 302 (Superintendent), 303 (Superintendent Selection), 304 (Superintendent Contract Duties and Evaluation), 305 (Policy Implementation), 606 (Textbooks and Instructional Materials), 712 (Video Surveillance other than on buses) and 722 (Public Data and Data Subject Requests) to the school board for consideration. Most were forwarded with no substantive change; several incorporate language recommended by the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA).

Committee Chair (Speaker 2) framed the session as an annual review, saying the committee examines each policy in its entirety before forwarding recommendations. On Policy 306, Administrator Code of Ethics, MSBA language was used to insert the Minnesota code of ethics for school administrators and to remove a referenced NAESP statement.

A motion by Committee Member (Speaker 1) to add a sentence to section 2(e) that "Federal law supersedes state and local laws" failed for lack of a second. Later in the discussion Speaker 1 moved to add a new subsection stating, in part, "A school administrator obeys local, state, and national laws and does not knowingly join or support organizations that advocate directly or indirectly the overthrow of the government." That amendment was seconded and passed by a recorded voice count of 6 in favor and 1 opposed.

Chair (Speaker 2) clarified the committee's action on Policy 304: "This is not approving the superintendent contract. This is approving that there is a superintendent contract. So it's terms in a contract and the contract." The chair's remarks were made to underline that forwarding the policy does not itself execute a contract.

On Policy 606, committee members noted MSBA added Article 5, paragraph D, which was described in the meeting as quoting relevant federal statutory language (transcript reference given as "20 USC 12 32 H A"). For Policy 712, the committee accepted MSBA's attorney recommendation to change the policy language from "surveillance" to "recording" and to clarify video recording rules in the specified article. Policy 722 was reviewed as an annual requirement concerning public data and data subject requests.

Votes at a glance: the committee approved forwarding Policies 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 606, 712 and 722 to the full board. The proposed amendment to add a federal-supremacy sentence to Policy 306 failed for lack of a second. The adopted addition creating subsection (l) of the Administrator Code of Ethics passed 6–1.

The committee confirmed its next meeting for March 3, 2026, at 3:45 p.m. and adjourned.