Georgia school board members would have state permission to speak their mind under legislation that cleared the House on Tuesday.
State Rep. Mike Dudgeon, R-Johns Creek, said the aim of SB 275 is to ensure the free speech rights of school board members.
After a series of problems will feuding and dysfunctional school boards, the Legislature passed a bill in 2010 requiring all local school boards to adopt ethics policies.
Some of those policies had a chilling effect, causing some school board members to believe they could not comment publicly or talk to the media, Dudgeon said.
“The code of ethics policies should not affect the free speech rights of school board members,” he said.
But that was the interpretation in some areas, Dudgeon said.
The goal of the bill is to clarify that for school board members, Dudgeon said. They are still not allowed to comment on executive session discussions or other confidential matters, he said.
The bill specifically states: “A local board of education shall not adopt or follow any code of ethics which prevents the members of such boards from discussing freely the policies and actions of such board outside of a board meeting.”
The bill now goes back to the Senate.
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