Jay Curtis

Over the coming weeks, Park County School District 1 leaders plan to re-examine the district’s policies for handling controversial topics and staffers’ political activities.

At the school board’s June 8 meeting, Superintendent Jay Curtis said the current policies “are really, really general and vague.”

“It’s become quite apparent that we need to clarify these and also provide some better guidance for our staff members,” Curtis said. “I think that we’re all keenly aware that the political environment of today is quite divisive.”

He said the school district should not keep political issues out of the schools, “because it’s really important our students have an opportunity to talk about these issues.

“But it’s just really important that we, as a district, remain neutral,” Curtis said.

The board voted unanimously to begin the process of revising two different district policies.

One generally says that teachers have a duty to ensure that the study of “controversial issues” is “objective and scholarly with a minimum emphasis on opinion.” If there is “any doubt” as to the suitability of “certain controversial material,” the policy says the board may be asked to review it.

Additionally, the policy says all students must be treated with respect, with no retaliation or ridicule for sharing a particular viewpoint. 

The other policy prohibits staffers from engaging in “political activities” on school premises or during school hours and bars them from “[using] students for political propaganda purposes.” Further, if an employee is involved in political activity, the board may ask to meet with the staffer “for a discussion of the relationship of the political activity and the job assignment.”

Both policies are brief, consisting of only a few paragraphs each.

“This is all we’ve got on our policy?” Trustee Don Hansen asked at one point. Curtis explained that’s exactly why he wanted to revisit the guidance.

The board will discuss the two policies at its June 29 meeting, but the superintendent said he wants to take a little bit more time on these particular policies and get plenty of input. Curtis said potential revisions could be considered by the board in July on a so-called second reading and then potentially voted on again in August for a third reading.

“It’ll just depend on our comfort and the level we really want to go to make sure we’re really standing on solid ground as we enter the next school year,” Curtis said.