Lauren Coupland
President Ben-Naim, Dr Steinhaus, and members of the board,
I am writing to express my continued concern about the Employee Speech policy, and urge you to vote no, or at least require extensive revisions to narrow the scope.
I am particularly concerned by this section:
“If an employee's personal expression or speech is strictly private and not part of work duties, does not violate the law, or interfere with the employee's ability to effectively perform his or her job, then it is not generally subject to district regulation. However, an employee’s public expressions, including social media, may be held to workplace standards of conduct when the public expressions undermine the employee’s effectiveness in the workplace or are disruptive to the educational process.”
This statement is extremely vague. I have serious concerns about how broadly this policy may be applied, multiple LAPS administrators have explicitly told me that they regularly receive and encourage the sharing of screenshots from private FB groups, and private pages. I fear that this policy could be used to control teachers' freedom of expression in every setting. Numerous times, I have seen teachers remove personal posts asking for moral support about their own children’s education because they received a phone call from an administrator, even though they were speaking in their capacity as a parent, not as a staff member. Additionally, I have seen teachers receive backlash from the district when they express concerns about coronavirus and the schools. I value these teachers and their dedication to all students. Expressing credible fear on private facebook pages should NOT be an actionable offense. I have personally experienced intimidating phone calls for facebook posts as a parent as well. I am concerned that LAPS is developing a culture of surveillance and control. Many parents and staff members are afraid to express anything that might be seen as critical of the schools for fear of retaliation.
I urge you to do three things.
First, vote no on this policy.
Second, research the case Pickering v. Board of Education to protect yourselves from affirming a policy that violates the first amendment.
Third, investigate how the district is currently handling social media and teachers absent of this policy. Conduct an anonymous survey of teachers and parents and you will find many negative experiences, even without this draconian policy. The fear of retaliation among staff and parents is pervasive.
I have my own concerns about anger towards me over my public comments affecting my children at school. But I feel I must speak up for the teachers, as many feel unable to do so themselves. I hope that this can be turned around, and we can create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing concerns.
Thank you,
Lauren Coupland