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Parents and board members raise free-speech and trust concerns over proposed staff expression policy
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Summary
Public commenters and several board members urged delaying or revising the proposed staff expression/civility policy, warning it could chill employee speech, create vague standards and worsen trust between staff and the board; one parent cited a Peninsula School District reversal as a cautionary example.
A public commenter and several board members urged the Tumwater School District Board of Directors to pause and revise a proposed staff expression policy, arguing the language is vague and risks chilling educatorsfree speech.
At the start of the public-comment period, a parent who identified themselves as the parent of two district students urged the board not to adopt the proposed policy (referred to in the meeting as "5 2 5 4"). The commenter said the policy "would seriously stifle the staff's free speech," called its standards "vague," and warned that similar measures have led to reversals in other districts, citing Peninsula School District as an example.
Later in discussion, multiple board members and attendees echoed concerns about the policy's scope. One director said she had received more outreach about this policy than any other issue shehad experienced on the board and urged colleagues to "vote against it" or return it to first reading for more conversation with educators and staff.
Board members asked for a clearer problem statement explaining what the policy is intended to solve and suggested a smaller work group to refine implementation procedures, especially around social media and what constitutes a disruptive action. One board member noted the policy references First Amendment concerns and that context has changed since the policy language was introduced.
The transcript does not record a final vote; at least one board member proposed taking the policy off of second reading and returning it to first reading for additional outreach and revision before any final action.
