Relating to speech and expression at school districts and providing for remedies

This bill relates to public forums, freedom of expression, and freedom of association at school districts. DEFINITIONS.73 established by the bill. POLICY ADOPTION. The bill requires the board of directors of each school district to adopt a policy that includes statements describing the functions and roles of institutions with regard to knowledge; protected speech; the freedom to discuss within the bounds of the established principles of the first amendment to the United States Constitution; freedom to assemble and engage in spontaneous expressive activities subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions; and outdoor areas as public forums. The bill requires the director of the department of education to ensure that each school board has adopted such a policy. PROTECTED ACTIVITIES. Protected activities include noncommercial expressive activities including but not limited to oral or written means to communicate ideas, including but not limited to all forms of peaceful assembly, protests, speeches including by invited speakers, distribution of literature, and circulating petitions. A member of the school community who wishes to engage in noncommercial expressive activity in outdoor areas shall be permitted to do so freely subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. However, nothing in the provision shall be interpreted as preventing school districts from prohibiting, limiting, or restricting unprotected expression. A school district shall not deny a student organization any benefit or privilege available to any other student organization. The provisions of the bill shall not be interpreted as limiting the right of student expression in a counter demonstration held in an outdoor area so long as the conduct at the counter demonstration is not unlawful, does not materially and substantially prohibit the free expression rights of others or disrupt the functioning of the institution, and does not impede others’ access to a facility or walkway. PUBLIC FORUMS —— FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION. The outdoor areas of school districts, which include public school attendance centers operated by the school district, must be deemed public forums. School districts may maintain and enforce clear, published, reasonable viewpoint-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions that are narrowly tailored in furtherance of a significant institutional interest, shall allow members of the school community to engage in spontaneous expressive activity and to distribute literature, shall provide for ample alternative means of expression, and, subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, shall not designate any area of the school grounds a free-speech zone or otherwise create policies restricting expressive activities to a particular outdoor area. Such provisions shall not be construed to grant individuals the right to disrupt the expressive activity of a person or student organization if the institution has reserved space in an outdoor area for the person’s or organization’s activity. An institution shall not deny any benefit or privilege to a student organization based on the organization’s requirement that its leaders agree to and support the organization’s beliefs. REMEDIES, STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS, AND IMMUNITY PROVISIONS. A member of the school community aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of the bill may file a complaint with the board of directors of the school district and may assert such violation as a defense or counterclaim. Such person has one year after the day the cause of action accrues to bring a claim for violation of the Code section. However, nothing in the bill shall be interpreted to limit any other available remedies to a member of the school community.