Policy 2.04

Public Information

1. Policy Statement. The Board is committed to a policy of public information which is based on the belief that the public schools of the District belong to the people who created them by consent and who support them by taxation. Consistent with legal requirements, the Board will make every effort to enhance public knowledge and understanding of, and encourage public participation in, the District's goals and programs. The Board, therefore, maintains this public information Policy, which will be carried out through the efforts of the Board, the Superintendent, and the Department of Public Affairs, to:

   1. keep the citizens of the District regularly and thoroughly informed through reasonably available channels of communication on the programs, needs, and objectives of public education in the School District in accordance with Fla. Stat. § 1001.42 and

   2. invite and foster the advice and counsel of the people within the School District at all reasonable times and especially, as provided in Policy 1.03, at public hearings and all regular, special, and workshop meetings of the Board which are open to the public under Florida's Sunshine Law.

2. Duty to Inform Public Affairs. It is the responsibility of each school, department, and advisory committee to facilitate the dissemination of information by keeping the Department of Public Affairs informed of all requests by media representatives for information of all newsworthy events within their area of authority.

3. Public Meetings and Notices.

   1. Pursuant to Fla. Const. Art. I, § 24(b) and Fla. Stat. § 286.011, all meetings of any collegial public body of the School District, at which official acts are to be taken or at which public business of such body is to be transacted or discussed, shall be open and noticed to public and news media, except with respect to meetings or hearings exempted from the open-meetings requirements pursuant to the state constitution or general law as interpreted by Florida courts and the Florida Attorney General.

   2. In addition to the notices of District public meetings and hearings given pursuant to the Sunshine Law or the Administrative Procedure Act, any personnel responsible for scheduling such meetings should ensure that the Department of Public Affairs and the Public Affairs webmaster are informed of each public meeting or hearing for listing on the Department of Public Affairs web site at: www. palmbeachschools. org/Board%20Mtgs-Workshops.htm.

4. Responsibility for Media Relations.

   1. School sites. -- Consistent with the requirements of School Board Policy 2.041 concerning public records requests, the school principal has primary responsibility for responding to inquiries from news media on behalf of a school center and for encouraging media coverage of newsworthy events at the school center. The District's Department of Public Affairs is a resource to be used as needed in this area.

   2. District Administration. -- As to public information, District administrators have the same responsibility for their areas of supervision as principals have for schools. At the beginning of each school year, each administrator should provide direction to staff members about how they should handle media inquiries pursuant to the provisions in this Policy.

5. Initiating Media Coverage. -- Schools may initiate requests for media coverage of newsworthy activities either on their own or through the Department of Public Affairs. If information is sent directly to the media, the Department of Public Affairs should also be informed.

6. Responding to Media Inquiries. -- To facilitate external and internal communications, administrators are asked to respond, consistent with Policy 2.041, in a forthright manner to inquiries from news reporters and to keep the Department of Public Affairs informed of all but routine inquiries. Administrators are reminded not to divulge exempt and confidential information.

   1. Principals. -- Principals should report (by e-mail, fax, or telephone) all media contacts to the Department of Public Affairs and the appropriate area superintendent. The Department of Public Affairs will make such information available to the Superintendent's Office.

   2. District Administrators. -- District administrators should report (by e-mail, fax, or telephone) all media contacts to the Department of Public Affairs, and either the Chief Academic Officer or Chief Operating Officer. The Department of Public Affairs will inform the Superintendent's Office.

7. Reporting Serious Incidents. -- In the event of a serious incident which might cause inquiries at the District level or by members of the media (for example, student disruption, serious assault on a student or staff member, bus accident, or fire at a school facility), an administrator should immediately inform the Superintendent's Office, the Chief Public Information Officer/designee, and the appropriate Area Superintendent or Chief Academic Officer or Chief Operating Officer. If necessary, the administrator may contact one of these offices and ask that the contacted office pass the message to the other two.

8. Requesting Assistance from the Department of Public Affairs. -- As a general rule, administrators should deal directly with news media inquiries, subject to Policy 2.041, about items within the administrator's area of responsibility. However, if news reporters come to a school to cover a situation and the principal needs assistance with the media while resolving the situation, the principal should request assistance from the Department of Public Affairs, so that the Chief Public Information Officer/designee can arrange to come to the school to assist the principal.

9. Campus Visits. -- To help protect the safety of students, the principal and staff must know who is visiting the campus and the purpose of the visit. Any person seeking to visit a school campus, including news media representatives, shall be required to request permission from the principal by telephone or in person and shall report to the main office upon arriving on campus, prior to any contact with students, staff, or volunteers.

   1. The principal may exercise reasonable discretion to grant or deny permission to visitors to enter the school or property or to remain on the grounds, pursuant to the authority vested in principals to supervise the operation and management of the schools and property under Fla. Stat. § 1001.32(4) and Board Policy 1.014.

   2. The principal or designated staff member should accompany media representatives or other visitors to the appropriate room/area on campus.

   3. To assist in keeping the public informed, principals will cooperate with reasonable requests from the news media. However, requests for campus visits by the media may be denied if the principal/designee reasonably believes the request would result in interruption of the orderly operation of the school or unnecessarily interfere with instruction or other school activities.

   4. Further, any person not subject to the rules of a school who creates a disturbance on the property or grounds of any school or commits any act that interrupts the orderly conduct of a school or any activity thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree as provided by Fla. Stat. § 1006.145. The principal/designee is authorized to request the police to arrest and/or remove such persons from school grounds or school activities.