Fairfield School Board Withdraws Proposal to Forbid 'Inappropriate' and 'Disrespectful' Public Comments

After a warning from the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, the Fairfield Board of Education dropped parts of a proposed revision to its public comment policy that would have threatened free speech rights.

The board was set to vote at its Jan. 13 meeting on the revised policy, which allows members of the public to comment at its meetings. The proposal, which was included in the meeting agenda, included this provision:

"No inappropriate or disrespectful conduct shall be permitted at any Board of Education meeting. Persistence in such conduct shall be grounds for summary termination, by the Chair, of that person's privilege of address."

ACLU of Connecticut Staff Attorney David McGuire and cooperating attorney Martin Margulies warned in a letter to the board's members and its lawyer that the restriction would violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as the free speech protections in the Connecticut Constitution.

"Such vague and standardless terms as 'appropriate,' 'inappropriate' and 'disrespectful' are open-ended invitations to unconstitutional applications -- that is, to applications based on the speaker's viewpoint -- and, in particular, to applications that treat as 'disrespectful' or 'inappropriate' any comments that criticize the Board's members or policies," the letter stated.

Another provision that would permit the board chairman to extend the time limit on speakers "as appropriate" would also infringe on free speech rights, the letter said, because it would also allow discrimination against speakers based on their viewpoints.

The Board of Education revised its agenda to remove the offending sections of the amended policy and its lawyer confirmed the changes in a letter to the ACLU of Connecticut. The board approved the remaining provisions, including a three-minute time limit for each speaker without the clause allowing discretionary extensions.

The ACLU of Connecticut has persuaded the Meriden City Council, Waterbury Board of Aldermen and Winchester Board of Selectmen to abandon similar attempts to restrict public comments at meetings.