In the height of handbook review season, now is the time for Episcopal Schools to prepare for the upcoming Presidential election and other topics creating discourse in schools. While an important moment in American history, elections often give rise to skepticism of the school’s curricular choices or approach to political discussions, or hostility towards certain books or concepts that are being taught in the classroom. At the same time, many schools want to encourage discourse to teach students not what to think but rather how to think. Hearing, processing and understanding conflicting viewpoints are critical skills for students in 2024.
We can offer practical advice regarding how to address sensitive topics like politics, religion, and social justice. While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach that will work for every school, we can help you navigate these challenges, as they relate to both students and employees, in a way that is fair and respectful to everyone.
What About Free Speech?
The First Amendment, while certainly among our most important amendments, is also perhaps the most frequently misconstrued. People often tout, when faced with any restriction on their right to express themselves, that they have an unequivocal First Amendment right to do so. That is not always the case. The First Amendment, as written, protects citizens from the government restricting their speech, not private entities.
For Episcopal schools very little speech is protected because private schools are not government entities or state actors. Private schools are generally allowed to put guardrails around what sorts of speech and other forms of expression are permissible on campus – whether the speaker is a student or employee.
Five Strategies for Promoting Civility
- Set the Tone
It is important when dealing with these thorny issues to lean into your Episcopal identity with community members – employees, parents, and students – reminding them that they are part of the same mission-oriented community and that, in almost every case, there is more pulling them together than driving them apart. Whatever differences people may have with each other, the most essential thing to remember is that everyone – regardless of their personal viewpoints – in the school community is worthy of respect and compassion.
For many people, their political ideology is tightly interwoven with their identity, and they feel their political beliefs are fundamental to who they are as people. This does not mean that the school must sit idly by as employees argue with one another, or as a student discussion in class turns contentious.
- Highlight Current Policy
Schools often already have policies in place that can be used as a framework for political conversations. Proactively reminding a community of the school’s rules and expectations regarding speech and behavior on campus in advance of tumultuous times can go a long way in lowering the temperature of political discussions. Whether these policies are directly related to political speech on campus, or are perhaps more generalized, like anti-harassment and anti-discrimination, it is critical that all constituents are on the same page. Take a moment to highlight those policies and how they are woven into an election year.
- Train Your Employees
Teaching administrators and teachers how to guide conversations that are heading toward a place of hostility back to one of mutual respect, or alternatively, shutting down conversations that have gotten out of hand is essential. Schools should not assume this is an innate skill for all employees. It is also important to clearly guide employees as to how their own political views and beliefs should or should not play into the curriculum.
Keep in mind that while most political speech is not protected at school, employees are allowed to discuss certain topics, such as wages, benefits, and other working conditions. This type of activity is generally protected under the National Labor Relations Act. Schools should train administrators how to recognize the difference between this type of protected speech and other speech that the school has the ability to regulate and manage.
- Keep the Door Open
Another thing to keep in mind is that this is a collaborative process with very few clear-cut answers. Schools should provide multiple avenues for teachers, students, and parents to address concerns or questions they may have with respect to school policy, or more generally about what is permissible at school in terms of discourse. Embrace difficult questions and conversations rather than allowing them to fester. Schools should not hesitate to reach out to their legal counsel to the extent they have doubts over how to handle or craft a message on these tricky and sensitive topics.
- Anticipate Hot-Button Issues
While every situation cannot be thought of in advance, schools should do what they can to plan ahead and have strategies in place to address difficulties that might occur at school in an election year. These might include things like buttons or stickers championing causes or specific candidates, get-out-the-vote campaigns, bumper stickers or clothing with political messages, and social media posts. Clear communication allows students, employees and parents to manage their own behavior and ask questions if they have them. Being prepared with a roadmap or action plan allows the school to act quickly to investigate and address these issues when problems arise and handle them expeditiously.
Discourse Policies: Should Your School Have One?
More and more schools are opting to include discourse policies in their student and employee handbooks. It is important that these policies be written consistently with the school’s mission, values and approach to discourse.
- Mitigate First Amendment Concerns. As discussed above, folks are understandably sensitive when they feel like their First Amendment rights are being restricted, so explaining the purposes behind this type of policy, as well as how it fits with the school’s Episcopal mission and values can assuage these concerns.
- Emphasize School’s Missions and Values. A civil discourse policy will remind readers that, while they have the right to express themselves on certain sensitive topics at school, this right is not unlimited and that the school’s mission and values need to be at the forefront of any expression of political ideas. Things like respect, kindness, and compassion need to be weighed more heavily than persuading another person of the rightness of one’s political beliefs. Further, a strong civil discourse policy will encourage people to ground their discussions in facts and logic and to respect the fact that everyone has a right to their viewpoints, ideas, and opinions.
- Establish Parameters. Be clear about what the school deems acceptable and what it requires when engaging in discourse. A few parameters you might consider, include
- Respecting everyone’s right to hold individual ideas
- Approaching religious, political and social conversations with a willingness to listen to ideas that differ from one’s own
- Grounding discussions in fact and reason
- Avoiding animosity, antagonism, mocking, or harassment
- Encouraging expression through discussion without the intention of excessive persuasion or judgment
- Inviting those who have concerns about civil discourse to speak up
- Set Expectations for Employees. Provide employees clear guidance about their role with respect to civil discourse. In many schools, employees are expected to encourage students to think deeply about complex topics and foster civil discourse with and between students so remind employees that it is their responsibility to create a space for civil discourse within the classroom. Require employees to share and model the guidelines for civil discourse with students by referring to this specific language and the school’s core values when redirecting a student or discussion. Be explicit and specific about what teachers are and are not assessing class assessments and assignments; an employee’s personal views should not affect a student’s grade. Encourage employees to help students express, explore and be challenged in their own viewpoints as they develop critical thinking skills.
The most important thing to keep in mind when crafting any sort of discourse policy, or really any policy, is to tailor it to your school’s community. No two schools are the same, so it makes sense that no two schools should have identical policies for such a sensitive and nuanced topic. What works at one school, may not work for your school. Also be sure to adopt separate policies for the student handbook and the employee handbook, as the parameters for civil discourse will necessarily differ between adults and students on campus.
Conclusion
Schools should proactively and thoughtfully consider how best to approach discourse in a way that aligns with their mission and values, convey their policies to their communities, and be prepared to react and adapt as issues come up.
Kristin Smith is Partner and Education Practice Group Co-Chair, Fisher & Phillips LLP.