The founders of the Commission for Student Rights in Torrington, from left, Tomasz Kalinowski, Chris Beyus and Nick Tomchik.
The Torrington Board of Education has adopted a policy on bullying, scrapping a much broader proposal that had threatened the free speech rights of student athletes.
The board voted 7-1 Wednesday to adopt a policy that describes the processes for reporting and investigating incidents of bullying. It replaces a draft agreement, which student athletes would have been required to sign and would have allowed school officials and coaches to punish them for speech deemed “inappropriate” or “offensive” or behavior that would “cast an adverse reflection” on the school.
That initial draft drew opposition from the Commission for Student Rights, a group of Torrington students, when the school board took it up. The students brought their concerns to the ACLU of Connecticut and Legal Director Sandra Staub wrote a letter in September to the school superintendent, warning that the agreement would infringe on student athletes' rights to free speech under the First Amendment. Adopting it would expose the school district to a civil rights lawsuit, Staub wrote.
The school board referred the matter to its attorneys, who recommended the replacement policy that was adopted Wednesday.
"The Torrington Board of Education is to be commended for recognizing that the original proposal invited censorship of speech that is clearly protected by the Constitution," Staub said Thursday. "It was encouraging to see young people stand up for their civil liberties and equally encouraging to see the school board listen."
Tomasz Kalinowski, president of the Commission for Student Rights, said the organization is grateful for the ACLU of Connecticut's help. "Our cooperation sent a message to board members that infringing on constitutional rights is not acceptable,” said Kalinowski, who founded the organization with Chris Beyus and Nick Tomchik.
