Slog
News & ArtsMonday, November 7, 2011
Education School Board Withdraws Free Speech Rule
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Mon, Nov 7, 2011 at 3:07 PM
Well, that was fast.
The school district writes:
The Seattle School District today announced that it will withdraw a policy proposal involving school district-sponsored freedom of expression. Interim Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield said that school board directors and district administrators jointly agreed to revisit the policy, introduced to the Seattle School Board Nov. 2, to ensure that it better reflects the community’s values.
“As we move forward in updating our policies, as chair of the curriculum and instruction policy committee, I will direct staff to ensure that any policy we develop regarding student expression is reflective of the language and values that we share in Seattle,” said School Board Director Harium
Martin-Morris.Based on a shared concern between district leadership and the Board, this policy will be pulled from the current list of updates, scheduled for Board action Dec. 7, and will be revisited in 2012, Dr. Enfield said.
“As a former journalism teacher, it is important for me—as I know it is for our Board—that we uphold our practice of trusting our teachers to educate our students on the rights and responsibilities that come with freedom of expression and a free press,” Dr. Enfield said.
Curtsies to Melissa.
2
LMFAO from Melissa's blog:
“Based on the fact that The Stranger just dropped their endorsement of me like a hot rock and called me a frothing idiot I will back off the policy I was totally defending 4 days ago” said School Board Director Harium Martin-Morris.
Not LMFAO:
You screwed up on the initial Martin-Morris endorsement and fixing it a day before the election is king of lame. Buetow is smarter, more engaged and according to you - cuter. If she loses, your punishment will be 4 years of Martin-Morris. Dolts.
“Based on the fact that The Stranger just dropped their endorsement of me like a hot rock and called me a frothing idiot I will back off the policy I was totally defending 4 days ago” said School Board Director Harium Martin-Morris.
Not LMFAO:
You screwed up on the initial Martin-Morris endorsement and fixing it a day before the election is king of lame. Buetow is smarter, more engaged and according to you - cuter. If she loses, your punishment will be 4 years of Martin-Morris. Dolts.
3
I'd like to think this was about free speech and shared values, but it's really about caving to pressure-- the only thing SPS is good at.
4
At least now a certain School Board director who doesn't like to see dozens of angry people at community meetings won't have to. This has been shelved until 2012, by which time the School Board director shall have more evenings free and no more responsibility over the Seattle Schools Superintendent. A relief for everybody.
7
@Agdtinman: SLOG said elsewhere it is "still hating on Martin-Morris." All is right with the world on this one.
8
I signed the petition to drop it and even wrote a comment about what a waste of time it is to be doing something so wrong based on no new situations showing any need to address this area of policy. Less than 2 hours ago. I am so powerful and influential!!
9
So when and where, exactly, did the Board and the staff get together to make this decision? The Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee didn't meet and decide it. So where does Director Martin-Morris get the authority to decide to pull the change?
Then again, maybe he didn't do it. Maybe the change was made unilaterally by Dr. Enfield.
Here's the thing. If it went down as Dr. Enfield described, and the "school board directors and district administrators jointly agreed to revisit the policy" then the Board is meeting and making decisions outside of their meetings and THAT is a violation of the Open Meetings Act.
Then again, maybe he didn't do it. Maybe the change was made unilaterally by Dr. Enfield.
Here's the thing. If it went down as Dr. Enfield described, and the "school board directors and district administrators jointly agreed to revisit the policy" then the Board is meeting and making decisions outside of their meetings and THAT is a violation of the Open Meetings Act.
10
Now we have more information - from Brian Rosenthal of the Seattle Times - about how the decision to pull the policy change was made. Director Martin-Morris and interim superintendent Enfield decided it together on the phone.
Director Martin-Morris was quoted as saying "That's the way the process is supposed to work."
Actually, no. Individual board members speaking on the phone with the superintendent are not supposed to be able to unilaterally make amendments to motions before the Board. That's not the way the process is supposed to work at all.
The way it is supposed to work is that Mr. Martin-Morris is supposed to propose an amendment to the motion at a Board meeting and the Board - all of the members of the Board - votes to decide whether to amend the motion or not.
This is a motion that was already introduced. Any material changes in the motion constitute an amendment to the motiona and don't get done with a phone call to the superintendent.
Once again, Director Martin-Morris demonstrates how he is completely unfit for office.
Director Martin-Morris was quoted as saying "That's the way the process is supposed to work."
Actually, no. Individual board members speaking on the phone with the superintendent are not supposed to be able to unilaterally make amendments to motions before the Board. That's not the way the process is supposed to work at all.
The way it is supposed to work is that Mr. Martin-Morris is supposed to propose an amendment to the motion at a Board meeting and the Board - all of the members of the Board - votes to decide whether to amend the motion or not.
This is a motion that was already introduced. Any material changes in the motion constitute an amendment to the motiona and don't get done with a phone call to the superintendent.
Once again, Director Martin-Morris demonstrates how he is completely unfit for office.
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