May 22, 2012

At a press conference on Tuesday, May 22, a coalition of 17 education, religious and civil liberties groups, including MPAC, will release new guidelines aimed at helping public schools uphold the First Amendment while combating harassment and bullying.

The press event will take place at 10 a.m. in the Zenger Room at the National Press Club (529 14th St. N.W.) in Washington, DC.

Speakers at the press conference will include MPAC's Legislative and Policy Analyst Hoda Elshishtawy; Marc Stern, American Jewish Committee; Charles Haynes, Religious Freedom Education Project; Francisco Negron, National School Boards Association; and Kim Colby, Christian Legal Society.

"Harassment, Bullying and Free Expression: Guidelines for Free and Safe Public Schools" was organized by the American Jewish Committee and the Religious Freedom Education Project and endorsed by American Association of School Administrators; ASCD; Center for Religion and Public Affairs at Wake Forest University Divinity School; Christian Educators Association International; Christian Legal Society; Hindu American Foundation; Islamic Networks Group and its affiliates; Islamic Society of North America; Muslim Public Affairs Council; National Association of Evangelicals; National Association of State Boards of Education; National Council for the Social Studies; National School Boards Association; Religion Action Center of Reform Judaism; and Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.

According to the guidelines, students should be able to attend public schools where they are free to share their views and engage in discussions about religious and political differences while simultaneously attending safe schools that prohibit discrimination, bullying and harassment.

"While these principles are compatible in most instances, sometimes they collide," Stern said. "The guidelines are aimed at helping school officials balance the need for school safety with the need for free expression."

National School Boards Association General Counsel Francisco Negron Jr. said he believes the guidance document will help public school officials navigate a murky area of the law.

"This guidance document, the product of months of collaboration among national organizations, should help public school officials balance the First Amendment rights of students and the student safety concerns associated with peer bullying and harassment," he said. "We hope that public schools will rely on it as they make on-the-ground decisions in this area. Public schools can be a shining example of a forum in which constitutional rights are respected and cherished, and where individual dignity and safety is guarded."