Several civil rights groups on Friday asked the Wake County Board of Education to reconsider a proposed policy that would prevent members of the public from criticizing school board members during public meetings.
In a letter to school board members, the American Civil Liberties Union, the state chapter of the NAACP, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights, the N.C. Justice Center and Legal Aid of North Carolina said that the policy would violate people’s free-speech rights.
A school board committee approved the policy two weeks ago, and the full board is expected to vote on it next Tuesday.
A provision in the proposed policy requires speakers at school board meetings to “refrain from personal attacks and insults directed at the board, staff or other members of the public.”