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Board trims contested line from employee conduct policy after public comment
Summary
After a public commenter warned that the draft language was overly broad, the board voted to adopt policy 5200 on employee professionalism with the contested bullet—requiring employees to "represent the district in a positive manner in all settings"—struck from the policy.
The Teton School District board amended and approved policy 5200 (employee professionalism and conduct) on June 11 after a public commentator and trustees raised concerns that one line in the draft was overly broad and could reach protected speech.
During public comment a community speaker criticized draft policy 5200, pointing specifically to the line that reads, "Employees shall represent the district in a positive manner in all settings," saying the phrase could improperly regulate staff speech beyond the workplace. The commenter cited First Amendment case law and urged the board to narrow the language.
Board discussion focused on the scope and purpose of the policy. Trustees said they wanted all district employees to demonstrate professional behavior in work settings but agreed the bullet as drafted could be misread to regulate off-duty, personal speech. A trustee said the board should "strike the whole bullet" to avoid chilling legitimate expression.
The board then moved to adopt policy 5200 with the fourth bullet removed; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. During the exchange trustees also confirmed the policy applies districtwide and that professional ethics language is grounded in state code governing certificated employees.
The board asked staff to ensure the final policy text clarifies expectations for workplace conduct while preserving lawful private speech rights and to circulate the amended policy to employees.
