HF 1948

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; prohibiting public school 
  1.3             employees from using public funds and resources to 
  1.4             pass, elect, or defeat a political candidate or 
  1.5             question; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes, chapter 123B. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [123B.022] [PROHIBITING SCHOOL EMPLOYEES FROM 
  1.9   USING PUBLIC RESOURCES FOR ADVOCACY; ENDORSING TIMELY AND 
  1.10  CURRENT FACTUAL INFORMATION.] 
  1.11     (a) A school board must adopt and implement a districtwide 
  1.12  policy that prohibits district employees from using district 
  1.13  funds or other publicly funded district resources, including 
  1.14  time, materials, equipment, facilities, and communication 
  1.15  technologies, among other resources, to pass, elect, or defeat a 
  1.16  political candidate or question.  The policy must apply when the 
  1.17  employee performs the duties assigned to the employee under the 
  1.18  employee's employment contract with the district, and includes 
  1.19  the periods when the employee represents the district in an 
  1.20  official capacity, among other duties.  The policy must not 
  1.21  apply when an employee disseminates factual information about a 
  1.22  political candidate or question or presents alternatives to a 
  1.23  political question, consistent with the employee's contractual 
  1.24  duties.  
  1.25     (b) The school board must provide the district's electorate 
  1.26  with timely factual information about a pending ballot question, 
  2.1   including information about current district revenues, 
  2.2   expenditures, and fund balances when the ballot question 
  2.3   proposes a referendum. 
  2.4      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective January 1, 2006.