Elkhorn committee reviews Neola advertising policy; agrees administrator approval for routine ads, flags logo and NIL concerns

The Elkhorn Area School District Policy Committee reviewed Neola's 9700 series dealing with advertising and commercial activities and discussed whether the template conflicts with recent name-and-likeness (NIL) rules for high school athletes.

Speaker 2 opened the discussion on the 9700 series and asked whether the policy would prevent students from pursuing NIL opportunities. Speaker 1 answered that the policy would not preclude a student from individual NIL endorsements but would require permission if a student or third party wants to use school facilities or the district's official logos.

"I wouldn't view it as anything" Speaker 1 said about a student's right to pursue NIL deals, adding that "if they're going to use school facility or school, they would need to have permission." The committee agreed that routine or temporary ads (scoreboard signage, yearbook ads) could be approved by the district administrator while semipermanent or permanent advertising installations should require board approval.

Key policy points and concerns

- Logo and trademark use: Committee members discussed trademarked district logos and the district's interest in protecting official marks to avoid the impression that outside materials are district-endorsed. Speaker 1 noted prior incidents where third-party materials resembled official district forms.

- Distribution of literature and First Amendment concerns: The policy allows materials to be posted or distributed in public areas with principal permission, but members recommended added language to ensure age-appropriateness and to limit distribution of materials that could foreseeably disrupt the learning environment.

- Market research and profit-making flyers: Several members recommended striking market-research provisions and limiting material sent home by profit-making organizations unless specifically authorized by the district administrator; Speaker 5 recommended removing market-research language outright.

- Vendor advertising and contracts: The group discussed scoreboard and signage advertising and concluded that semipermanent advertisements should likely be a board-level decision. Members noted the district does not own all buses (contracted with Durham) and can only control exterior bus advertising through contract terms.

Next steps

Committee members favored option 2 in the Neola template (district administrator approval for routine advertising) and asked staff to draft local language clarifying principal discretion over age-appropriate literature and explicit rules for logo/trademark use, plus a process for board-level review of semipermanent agreements.