The First Amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights protects a citizen's entitlements of freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and the right to petition government for the redress of grievances - that is unless you are a 15-year-old Lake Worth High School (LWHS) student seeking to address the School Board during a televised public meeting.
Apparently, current School Board members have an aversion to confrontation at their meetings, and will go out of their way to prevent policy embarrassments in public, even if it limits the Constitutional rights of the citizens to whom they have a mission to serve.
Several LWHS students, unhappy with the dismissal and transfer of a beloved assistant principal at their school, decided to exercise their First Amendment rights by "pre-registering" as speakers before a Jan. 18 meeting of the School Board.*
School Board Policy 1.03 requires prior registration by public speakers by 12 p.m. on the day of a meeting. Speakers also are required by the policy to state the topics or agenda items they will address to administrative staff in advance.
One would think the School Board and its administration would have praised the civic-minded initiative demonstrated by the students in exercising our democratic principles. That was not the case. The 16th century Spanish Inquisition would have applauded of the School Board's reaction.
In a Feb. 19 front-page story, Palm Beach Post staff profiled the ordeal of a LWHS student named Miguel. (Since he is a minor, this article withholds his full name in the hope the School District will let him continue his education in peace and privacy.)
On the day of the School Board meeting, Miguel was called out of his class and told to report to the principal's office. In this intimidating setting, he was interrogated by the School District Regional Superintendent and an Assistant Regional Superintendent.
Miguel's interrogators questioned him about what he planned to say to the School Board. Then they tried to convince him not to speak, according to the LWHS student. To their credit, Miguel and three other students appeared before the board and tried to present their views.
However, intimidation by high-ranking School District administrative officials wasn't the only hurdle faced by the young scholars. Next they had to endure the wrath of the School Board chairman while making their presentation.
The School Board usually remains silent and taciturn during the "Comments by the Public" segment of the agenda. Miguel and his classmates faced interruptions by the chairman while making their prepared comments, and were warned not to mention the names of the LWHS principal and assistant principal under investigation by the School District.
Confronted by hostility by the School Board and staff, Miguel displayed nothing less than a profile in courage. The same can't be said for the School Board members who failed to come to his defense.
The School Board defends their policy by saying the district is trying to be proactive and resolve conflicts before they come to public hearings. However, several parents and students contacted by administrative staff in the past contend such "persuasion" is not always "friendly".
There is not a happy ending to Miguel's saga. Faced with a less than friendly campus atmosphere at LWHS, the student transferred to another school.
Censorship with a Smile
Ever since the beautiful Par-3 Forest Hill Golf Course was paved over by the School Board to build a confusing concrete labyrinth named Fulton-Holland Educational Services Center, this so-called "Taj Mahal" of education has housed a bureaucracy that is legendary to both teachers and parents for its glacial administrative power of inertia.
In such an environment, it is tempting for board members to pass along real educational concerns of students, teachers and parents for their administrative staff to handle, (then file and archive), instead of resolving issues head-on at public hearings.
There are few opportunities for the public to interact with their elected boards. Any roadblocks built by government officials to restrict this vital face-to-face feedback by citizens does the community a disservice.
Below are the politically correct "Top Five Local Rules to Limit Free Speech at Public Hearings." As with all policies limiting personal freedom, they are drafted with a wink by legal staff, and are always "for the public good":
- Civility Codes: Speech restrictions at public meetings drafted to prohibit offensive words and bad behavior. The City of West Palm Beach held two brainstorming sessions with citizens to define "civility". They failed. Civility remains in the eye of beholder. So is censorship.
- Time Limits: Most local government boards limit public comments to three minutes. Board chairmen have the power to reduce it to two minutes or less. By contrast, land developers, their attorneys and paid lobbyists have unlimited time to promote their projects at public hearings.
- 'No-Name' Rules: Policies established by some local governments to prohibit criticism of board members, staff or special interest lobbyists "by name" during public meetings.
- Cross-Examination Policy: At public hearings, citizens are not allowed to directly cross-examine special interest groups, their lobbyists or government staff. They must submit questions in writing. County legal staff and board chairmen then have the option of editing or disregarding the written public queries.
- Pre-registration: Some local councils do not allow the public to comment on issues before the board unless requests to speak are submitted in writing before the start of the meeting. Citizens are banned from speaking at "workshop" sessions by many local boards.
Let us hope a majority of elected government officials still value the words spoken by private citizens at public hearings. Even the words of a 15-year-old student contain acquired knowledge.
*NOTE: The author is a graduate of the LWHS Class of 1972. See also "County Limits Right to Question Developers" archived in Older Posts.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017.
